Indian men’s cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir has filed a suit in the Delhi High Court seeking relief from what he called misuse of his identity through artificial intelligence (AI) tools, deepfakes and unauthorized commercial use, news agency ANI reported on Thursday. In his petition, Gambhir named several social media accounts, an intermediary and an e-commerce platform as defendants. He requested a permanent injunction preventing them from using his name, likeness, voice or personality without his consent.
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Gautam Gambhir reflects on India’s World Cup win and Sanju Samson’s support in the tournamentThe suit is filed against 16 defendants, including identified social media accounts (JanKey Frames, Bhupendra Paintola, Legends Revolution, gustakhedits, cricket_memer45, GemsOfCrickets, Crickaith, Sunny Upadhyay, @imRavY_), an e-commerce platform (Amazon Cormedia, Flip. LLC / YouTube) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Telecommunications as pro forma parties to facilitate any court action order, an ANI report said.The former BJP MP also sought an immediate ex-parte ad-interim order to remove all such content and stop further dissemination while the case is pending.The petition also seeks damages of Rs 2.5 million along with issuance of bills.According to the lawsuit, since the end of 2025, there has been an increase in man-made digital content created using artificial intelligence tools such as face swapping and voice cloning, allegedly showing him making statements he never made.The filing said some of these videos – including a fake resignation notice and fabricated remarks about senior cricketers – received thousands of views, which he said misled the public and affected his reputation.Gambhir also alleged that his identity was used for commercial purposes by selling unauthorized goods on e-commerce platforms without any permission or license.The lawsuit was filed against 16 defendants, including social media accounts, intermediaries such as platform operators and e-commerce entities. Government authorities have been engaged as pro forma parties to ensure implementation of all court directions.The proposal invokes the provisions of the Copyright Act, the Trademark Act and the Commercial Courts Act. It also relies on judicial precedents that recognize personality rights and rights of publicity as enforceable, even in cases involving AI-based abuse.Gambhir highlighted the issue, stating that his identity had been “weaponized” by anonymous accounts to spread misinformation and generate revenue, adding that the matter raised concerns beyond personal harm, including issues of dignity and legal protection in the context of artificial intelligence.The matter is expected to be taken up in the coming days before the Delhi High Court for interim measures.
