'Grave Infringement Of Dignity': Bombay High Court Protects Actor Suniel Shetty From AI Deepfakes & False Endorsements

The Bombay High Court has granted ex-parte ad-interim relief to actor Suniel Shetty over unauthorized use of his persona through AI deepfakes, impersonation, and false endorsements online. A single judge bench of Justice Arif S Doctor, while restraining several known and unknown individuals from misusing Shetty's persona, remarked that the acts of exploitation “can best be described as a lethal combination of a depraved mind and the misuse of technology resultantly causing harm to the Plaintiff's personality rights.” The Court noted with particular concern that “unauthorized creation/uploading of deepfake images of the Plaintiff on social media platforms constitutes a grave infringement not only of his personality rights but also of his right to live with dignity.”Regarding the misuse of images of Shetty's family, the Court remarked, “The unauthorized use of AI-generated images of the Plaintiff and his family members constitutes a blatant invasion of their privacy and their fundamental rights."The suit was filed by Shetty seeking protection of his personality rights, privacy, and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and moral rights under the Copyright Act, 1957. The actor, who has featured in over 100 films and is widely recognized publicly, alleged that unknown persons had engaged in the unauthorized use of his persona. This included AI-generated obscene images, impersonation on social media, false endorsements (such as for gambling websites and astrology services), and sale of merchandise bearing his image, all done without his consent.The actor submitted that such acts not only violated his rights but also misled the public into believing that he endorsed or was associated with these activities.Representing Shetty, Senior Advocate Dr Birendra Saraf argued that the Shetty's personality had acquired distinctive value and recognition, encompassing his name, his signature, his image and his likeness, his voice and tone, his distinctive performance and mannerisms. He asserted that any unauthorized use of these attributes amounted to a violation of Shetty's fundamental rights, including the right to privacy and the right to live with dignity.Dr Saraf emphasized that Defendants are systematically misappropriating Shetty's identity to generate followers, digital engagement, and financial gain. Citing precedents involving singer Asha Bhosale, Anil Kapoor, Arijit Singh and others, he urged the Court to issue urgent ex-parte ad-interim relief.After reviewing the submissions, the Court agreed with Shetty's arguments, granting interim injunctions against several named and unnamed defendents. These parties have been restrained from infringing or misappropriating Shetty's personality rights and moral rights. The Court expressly prohibited any further use of the actor's name, image, voice, likeness, signature, distinctive mannerisms or any uniquely identifiable attribute, including through Artificial Intelligence generated content, deepfake videos, voice cloned audio, edited or morphed visuals, metaverse environments and any future formats or mediums.The Court also passed specific directions to social media platforms, including Meta and X Corp requiring them to take down the infringing content identified in the Plaint within one week. Further, these platforms must act on future written complaints by the Plaintiff about similar misuse and are directed to disclose details such as user names, addresses, IP logs, and payment information of the individuals responsible, to enable the Plaintiff to implead them before the court. On the question of economic harm that the infringement has caused, the Court held, “...In the modern digital economy, the aforesaid Defendants' actions constitute a deliberate conversion of the Plaintiff's goodwill into an unearned commercial advantage" It further remarked, “Such unauthorized use creates a false sense of endorsement or affiliation, misleading the public and amounting to classic passing off, misappropriation of goodwill, and consumer deception.”The court will now hear the matter next on November 17.Case Name: Suniel V Shetty v John Doe S Ashok KumarCase Number: COMMERCIAL IP SUIT (L) NO. 32130 OF 2025Appearances; For Plaintiff : Senior Advocate Dr. Birendra Saraf with advocates Janay Jain, Monisha Mane Bhangale, Bijal Vora, Tamanna Meghrajani, Pavanaj R. Hariharan instructed by Parinam Law Associates for the PlaintiffClick here to read/download order

'Grave Infringement Of Dignity': Bombay High Court Protects Actor Suniel Shetty From AI Deepfakes & False Endorsements

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