After Aishwarya, Delhi High Court protects Abhishek Bachchan against misuse of persona

The Delhi High Court has restrained online platforms from misusing Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan’s name, image and likeness for commercial purposes, while affirming his right to protect his personality rights.

Justice Tejas Karia, in an order dated September 10, 2025, observed that Mr. Bachchan’s persona — including his name, photographs, voice and signature — was being exploited without authorisation through technological tools such as Artificial Intelligence.

Notably, the court had on September 9, 2025 granted similar relief to Bachchan’s wife, actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who approached the court against the unauthorised commercial exploitation of her name and image.

“These attributes are linked to the plaintiff’s professional work and associations in the course of his career. The unauthorised use of such attributes has the effect of diluting the goodwill and reputation associated with him,” Justice Karia said.

The court’s direction came on a plea filed by Bachchan seeking protection of his personality rights and a ban on online platforms circulating his unauthorised images, name, and AI-generated inappropriate or sexually explicit content.

The suit accuses several websites of misappropriating elements of Bachchan’s personality — including his name, likeness, persona and voice — for commercial gain without consent.