HC takes up Abhishek Bachchan’s plea over protection of personality rights 

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday heard a petition filed by actor Abhishek Bachchan seeking protection of his personality rights and an injunction against the unauthorised use of his name, image, voice and performances on digital platforms. The plea contends that several websites, YouTube channels, and social media accounts are misusing his persona for commercial and personal gain without his consent.

The matter came up before Justice Tejas Karia, who observed that the court could direct Google to take down objectionable content if a specific list of URLs was provided by the petitioner.

“We can ask Google to take down. But the order cannot be general in nature. It has to be divided defendant-wise. If you can identify the platform, it can be easily done,” the judge remarked during the morning hearing.

Appearing for Bachchan, advocate Pravin Anand assured the court that the details would be compiled. “Please pass over, we will divide as per defendant,” he submitted.

Later in the afternoon, the counsel placed before the court the specific URLs which allegedly contained infringing content. Justice Karia took note of the submissions and said, “Okay, we will consider.”

In his plea, Bachchan has alleged that multiple online platforms have been misappropriating his persona by creating and circulating unauthorised content, including merchandise, wallpapers, and videos bearing his image.

The petition also points to the growing misuse of artificial intelligence, citing AI-generated and deepfake videos featuring him without consent.

According to Bachchan, such acts constitute a violation of his personality and publicity rights, in addition to trademark infringement, passing off, unfair competition, and dilution of reputation. He has urged the court to restrain websites, e-commerce portals and individuals from misusing his name, likeness, voice, and performances, asserting that these attributes are unique to his identity and cannot be commercially exploited without authorisation.

The actor has further sought protection against the circulation of content that could damage his reputation or lead to defamation.

Notably, the matter was heard a day after Justice Karia considered a similar plea filed by Bachchan’s wife, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who also approached the High Court seeking protection of her personality rights against online misuse. The court has listed Abhishek Bachchan’s case for further hearing on January 15, 2026.