Sushant Singh Rajput Case : Are Celebrity Rights Available Posthumously? Delhi High Court To Decide

Rejecting a temporary injunction application filed by late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's (SSR) father against the use of his son's name, caricature, likeness or persona in movies being purportedly made on his life, the Delhi High Court today gave some crucial prima facie findings on various questions determining rights of celebrities in the country - including whether 'celebrity rights' or the 'right to publicity' are available posthumously. BRIEF FACTS: The Plaintiff, Sushant Singh Rajput's father, Krishna Kishore Singh, asserting to be "the Category-I of Class-II legal heir of SSR and absolute legal heir under Section 16 of Hindu Succession Act, 1956", filed a suit before the Delhi High Court seeking to protect the "reputation, privacy and rights of his deceased son," which he claimed stand to be violated by movies such as "Nyay: The Justice", "Shashank", etc. that are purportedly inspired by Rajput's life and life events. SSR was a renowned actor from the entertainment industry, who worked in several blockbuster movies and television series, bagged multiple awards, and had attained the status of a public figure and celebrity. He passed away under suspicious circumstances on June 14 last year. The criminal case registered against the incident by the Plaintiff is being investigated by the CBI, and there is no conclusive report submitted as yet. SSR's demise attracted widespread news coverage on electronic, social, and print media. The Plaintiff has moved the court seeking, inter alia, an ad-interim ex-parte injunction against the Defendants from using his son's name, caricature, lifestyle or likeness in forthcoming films and other ventures. He contends that any such publication, production, or depiction would be an infringement of personality rights and the right to privacy which includes the right to publicity, amongst others, and cannot be undertaken without the prior approval of his legal heir. The question for the consideration of the court therefore, was that are celebrity rights available posthumously, and further, can they be inherited? THE PLAINTIFF - SSR'S FATHER: Singh has stated that the Defendants – who include the producers, director and outliner of the movie, "Nyay: The Justice", which is slated for release on June 11, i.e. tomorrow, are trying to "exploit the media frenzy and public curiosity surrounding SSR's life and the circumstances surrounding his death, for their commercial gain." He argues that, in September, 2020, his counsel had made a widely circulated statement that, "no movie(s), book(s) or series based on the Plaintiff's son should be made without obtaining the prior consent of his family. Despite that, without approaching the family, Defendants No. 1 to 4 are making a movie which is a self-proclaimed "tribute to Sushant Singh Rajput", titled 'Nyay: The Justice'." Produced by Sarla A Saraogi and Rahul Sharma, directed by Dilip Gulati, and the film has been outlined by Sarla's husband, a lawyer named Ashok Saraogi, the plaint states. Kishore Krishna Singh argues that this has resulted in a violation of "celebrity rights" or the "right to publicity" which belonged to his son, Sushant before his death, and which he has inherited as Sushant's only legal heir. Singh has argued that "the public at large cannot be permitted to make windfall gain through commercially exploiting the persona of the deceased." THE DEFENDANTS - THE DIRECTOR & PRODUCERS OF "NYAY: THE JUSTICE" However, disputing the Singh's case, Dilip Gulati, the director of Nyay, submitted that, while he accepted the celebrity status of Rajput, his right as a celebrity would be infringed only in case he was identifiable as a part of the artistic work. Gulati also denied the use of Rajput's name, image, caricature or style of delivering dialogues. He also argued that in terms of S. 306 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 which enlists certain rights that cease to exist after the demise of a person, the cause of action of defamation as defined in the Indian Penal Code, 1860, would cease to exist upon the demise of a celebrity. Gulati also submitted that the right to privacy of a celebrity or any person lives and dies with the person, and therefore, the same cannot be asserted after the person's death. Building on the argument by the Director, the producers, Sarla Saraogi and Rahul Sharma submitted that, the goodwill and reputation earned by Rajput during his lifetime cannot be inherited by his legal heir, i.e. his father, like a movable or immovable property. They submitted that, "In India, the right to publicity is derived from the right to privacy – the two are not independent of each other and cannot exist without the other. In the context of what has been held in Puttaswamy (supra), if the right to privacy extinguishes with the human being, the only necessary corollary is that right to publicity would also...

Sushant Singh Rajput Case : Are Celebrity Rights Available Posthumously? Delhi High Court To Decide

Shreya Agarwal

The Delhi High Court will decide if Sushant Singh Rajput's family can claim his 'celebrity rights' to stop the use of their son's name and image for movies without their permission.

Tags