Bollywood actress Kajol Devgan was granted interim protection of her personality rights by the Delhi High Court on Friday.
Now the actress has the right to her name, image, voice or likeness and is protected against commercial use of them without her permission.
In an interim order, Justice Jyoti Singh said her personality rights must be protected from abuse by artificial intelligence and deepfake technology.
Additional orders would ensure that no one uses her identity in manipulated digital content.
The Supreme Court also ordered various defendants to remove pornographic and obscene material posted online using the personality rights of the actress.
Kajol is not the only one who approached the Delhi High Court to protect their personality rights. Recently, several renowned personalities from various fields like film industry, sports, politics, legal field and social media have turned for the same.
Kajol’s petition comes at a time when the Delhi High Court is expanding its jurisprudence around personality rights, particularly in relation to digital abuse.
A Delhi court recently granted strong protection to public figures such as Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan and digital creator Raj Shamani. Even the late Ratan Tata went to court seeking injunctions against the misuse of his identity online.
These decisions reaffirm that individuals retain sole control over the commercial and digital use of their person.
At the same time, the court expressed concern about emerging threats such as deepfakes, voice cloning and synthetic visuals, noting that they encroach not only on publicity rights but also on individual dignity and privacy, stressing that satire, artistic expression, commentary and reporting must remain intact.
Why do personality rights matter?
Personality rights – also referred to as rights of publicity – give individuals legal control over the commercial use of their identity, including their name, likeness, voice, gestures, mannerisms and phrases. These rights act as safeguards against unauthorized use and protect both reputation and economic interests.
While India does not yet have a dedicated law governing personality rights, the courts consistently recognize and enforce them under Article 21 of the Constitution – which guarantees the right to privacy – and through common law principles such as rendition and misappropriation of goodwill.
Legal boundaries in the age of AI
The rapid rise of deepfake and generative artificial intelligence technologies makes the protection of personality rights increasingly urgent. Celebrities are raising concerns about a range of issues – from fake profiles and unauthorized merchandising to AI-cloned voices and manipulated explicit content. In response, courts have ordered online platforms to remove infringing material and block illegal websites.