Deterring Digital Doppelgangers: Delhi HC Protects Ajay Devgn’s Personality Rights Against Deepfakes & Misuse

Last Updated:November 28, 2025, 04:23 IST

The judgment reinforces the right to publicity in India, which allows an individual to control and profit from the commercial value of their persona

Devgn’s plea detailed widespread misappropriation, including the creation and dissemination of unauthorised and obscene content, specifically highlighting deepfake pornographic content and images showing him in 'unpleasant' scenarios with female celebrities. File image

The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted significant relief to Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, protecting his personality and publicity rights by issuing an interim order restraining several websites and online platforms from illegally using his name, images, voice, or other personality attributes for unauthorised commercial gain.

The ruling by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora came in response to a suit filed by Devgn, who joins a growing list of Indian celebrities—including Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Karan Johar—seeking legal protection against the rampant misuse of their identity in the digital space, particularly with the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deepfake technology.

Context of Misappropriation

Devgn’s plea detailed widespread misappropriation, including the creation and dissemination of unauthorised and obscene content, specifically highlighting deepfake pornographic content and images showing him in “unpleasant" scenarios with female celebrities. His legal team argued that this material severely damaged his reputation, which he claimed was built as a “family friendly personality" associated with various national brands.

Beyond explicit content, the actor flagged several other forms of infringement:

Unauthorised Merchandise: E-commerce platforms were found selling posters, caps, t-shirts, and other merchandise bearing his image and name without consent.

Fake Endorsement/Bookings: Platforms were falsely claiming to book paid appearances for Devgn, misleading the public for commercial profit.

AI Training: The suit also sought a directive to prevent infringing material from being used by platforms like YouTube to train AI models, raising a novel and critical point in the debate over digital rights.

The Court’s Directive

The High Court passed a clear directive for the immediate takedown of all obscene and AI-generated deepfake videos and sexually explicit content, calling them impermissible and damaging. However, the court provided a caveat regarding non-malicious fan content, stating, “You have to give some leeway to fan pages… he will have to erase his footsteps completely" if all general images were removed.

This judgment reinforces the right to publicity in India, which allows an individual to control and profit from the commercial value of their persona. It serves as a crucial legal safeguard against the economic and reputational harm caused by digital impersonation, establishing a strong precedent that personality rights, tied to the fundamental Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution, cannot be commercially exploited without explicit consent.

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