Delhi High Court Refuses Blanket Takedown Order In Janhvi Kapoor's Personality Rights Suit But Orders Removal Of Vulgar Content
The Delhi High Court has refused to grant a blanket takedown order covering 6,884 allegedly offending URLs in Bollywood actress Janhvi Kapoor's personality rights suit.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani however directed the removal of 552 offending URLs containing content that appeared to be “grossly sexually vulgar or pornographic” against her.
The Court observed that the reliefs sought by Kapoor were “over-broad”, particularly since the suit covered thousands of URLs falling under different categories. The Court therefore declined to direct removal or takedown of all 6,884 URLs.
“After a very detailed hearing in the matter, this court is of the view that the claims in the plaint and the prayers sought in the present application are over-broad, not only because of the nature of relief sought, but also for the reason that relief has been claimed against a total of 6884 URLs, across various categories,” the Court said.
“This court is accordingly not inclined to grant to the plaintiff a blanket order injuncting or directing the removal or take-down of all 6884 URLs that have been made subject matter of the present suit,” it added.
Accordingly, the Court directed Kapoor's counsel to classify the impugned URLs, social media accounts and other digital material into three categories: content that is ex-facie pornographic and sexually vulgar; content that directly monetises her personality rights; and content using her name and likeness to indirectly promote the sale of merchandise and services.
At the same time, the Court found that the 552 URLs, on a preliminary appreciation of the matter, contained “grossly sexually vulgar or pornographic” content and evidently did not carry Kapoor's permission.
The Court held that Kapoor had made out a prima facie case in respect of the said content, with the balance of convenience in her favour and the likelihood of irreparable loss and injury if interim protection was not granted.
Accordingly, the Court directed defendants 20 and 21 to forthwith remove or take down the impugned URLs.
Title: Janhvi Kapoor v. John Does & Ors