Delhi HC grants Varun Dhawan injunction against AI deepfakes, persona misuse
Synopsis
The Delhi High Court has issued a sweeping injunction shielding Varun Dhawan from AI deepfakes, fake booking services, and pornographic content falsely linked to him — the latest in a string of celebrity personality-rights victories that signals Indian courts are drawing a hard line against unchecked AI-driven persona exploitation.
Key Takeaways
The Delhi High Court granted an ex parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Varun Dhawan on 1 June 2025 .
The order restrains defendants from exploiting his name, image, voice, and likeness via AI, deepfakes, generative AI, face morphing , and related technologies.
The suit alleged unauthorised booking services, counterfeit merchandise, and pornographic deepfake content falsely associated with the actor.
Infringing URLs must be taken down within 36 hours ; intermediaries must also disclose subscriber information of flagged accounts.
The case follows similar actions by over a dozen public figures including Gautam Gambhir , Aishwarya Rai Bachchan , and Shashi Tharoor before the same court.
Next hearings: Joint Registrar on 5 August for pleadings; Delhi High Court on 1 October for further proceedings.
The Delhi High Court on 1 June 2025 granted an ex parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan, restraining multiple entities from commercially exploiting his name, image, voice, and other personality attributes without authorisation — including through artificial intelligence (AI) tools, generative AI, and deepfake technologies. The order was passed by a single-judge bench of Justice Jyoti Singh in a commercial suit filed by the actor against a range of defendants.
What the Suit Alleged
The suit named online event-booking platforms, e-commerce websites, social media accounts, intermediaries, and unidentified 'John Doe' entities as defendants. It alleged large-scale misuse of Dhawan's personality and publicity rights through unauthorised celebrity booking services, sale of merchandise bearing his name and likeness, dissemination of derogatory and abusive content, and the creation of AI-generated images, videos, and deepfakes portraying him in inappropriate scenarios. The suit also flagged the circulation of pornographic content falsely associated with the actor.
What the Court Found
The Delhi High Court observed that Varun Dhawan is a celebrated Hindi film actor with a career spanning over 14 years, enjoying substantial goodwill, reputation, and commercial value. Justice Singh noted that Dhawan's name, image, voice, likeness, and signature are uniquely associated with him and constitute valuable personality and publicity rights deserving legal protection. The court further noted that Dhawan holds trademark registrations over his name and signature, reinforcing the statutory basis for protection.
The court held: 'On a holistic reading of the plaint and perusal of the documents, the Court is of the view that the Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for grant of ex parte ad interim injunction.' It added: 'The balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiff, and irreparable harm and injury shall be caused to him if the ex parte injunction, as sought, is not granted.'
Scope of the Injunction
The court restrained the defendants and their associates from using or exploiting Dhawan's name, image, voice, likeness, or any other identifiable attribute of his persona for commercial or personal gain — explicitly covering Artificial Intelligence, Generative Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deepfakes, AI Chatbots, Face Morphing, and allied technologies. The order also barred the sale, advertisement, or facilitation of merchandise bearing the actor's identity without authorisation, and restrained certain social media accounts from creating or disseminating abusive, derogatory, or misleading AI-generated content involving him.
Directing immediate action, the court ordered the takedown of numerous infringing URLs across websites, e-commerce portals, and social media platforms within 36 hours of receiving the order. Intermediaries were also directed to remove fresh infringing content notified by the actor within the same window and to disclose basic subscriber information of identified accounts. One defendant submitted during the hearing that it had already removed the impugned profile after receiving an advance copy of the suit — a statement taken on record by Justice Singh.
A Growing Legal Trend
The Varun Dhawan case is the latest in a rapidly expanding series of personality-rights actions before the Delhi High Court. In recent months, former cricketer and current head coach Gautam Gambhir, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, actors Arjun Kapoor, Allu Arjun, Nagarjuna, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan, singer Jubin Nautiyal, filmmaker Karan Johar, podcaster Raj Shamani, and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor have secured or sought court protection against unauthorised use of their identity, likeness, or AI-generated imitations. The pattern signals a broader judicial reckoning with the unchecked commercial exploitation of celebrity personas in the AI era.
What Happens Next
The matter has been listed before the Joint Registrar on 5 August for completion of pleadings, and before the Delhi High Court on 1 October for further hearing. The interim injunction remains in force until then, and any violation could invite contempt proceedings.
Point of View
So judges are stitching together trademark law, tort principles, and interim injunction powers to contain the damage. The 36-hour takedown window is notably aggressive, but enforcement against anonymous 'John Doe' defendants and offshore platforms remains the real challenge. As the roster of petitioners grows — from cricketers to MPs to spiritual leaders — the Delhi High Court is quietly building a common-law framework that Parliament has not yet codified. The question is whether piecemeal injunctions can keep pace with the industrial-scale AI content mills that generate this material in the first place.
NationPress
18 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Delhi High Court order in the Varun Dhawan personality rights case?
The Delhi High Court granted an ex parte ad-interim injunction on 1 June 2025 restraining multiple entities from exploiting Varun Dhawan's name, image, voice, and likeness without authorisation, including through AI, deepfakes, and generative AI tools. The court also ordered the takedown of infringing URLs within 36 hours.
What did Varun Dhawan's suit allege?
The suit alleged unauthorised celebrity booking services, sale of counterfeit merchandise, dissemination of derogatory content, and the creation of AI-generated deepfakes — including pornographic material — falsely associated with the actor. Defendants included e-commerce platforms, social media accounts, and unidentified 'John Doe' entities.
Why did the court find a prima facie case in Varun Dhawan's favour?
Justice Jyoti Singh noted that Dhawan has a 14-year career with substantial goodwill and holds trademark registrations over his name and signature. The court held that the balance of convenience favoured the actor and that irreparable harm would result if the injunction were not granted.
Who else has sought personality rights protection from the Delhi High Court recently?
In recent months, Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Gavaskar, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Arjun Kapoor, Allu Arjun, Nagarjuna, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jubin Nautiyal, Karan Johar, Raj Shamani, and Shashi Tharoor have all secured or sought similar court protection against AI-generated imitations and persona misuse.
What are the next steps in the Varun Dhawan case?
The matter is listed before the Joint Registrar on 5 August for completion of pleadings, and before the Delhi High Court on 1 October for further hearing. The interim injunction remains operative until the court rules otherwise.
