New Delhi, March 19 (NationPress) Gautam Gambhir, the former Indian cricket star and current head coach of the national men's team, has turned to the Delhi High Court for legal recourse to safeguard his personality and publicity rights from a "systematic onslaught of digital impersonation, AI-generated deepfakes, and unauthorized commercial exploitation."

The civil case has been lodged in the High Court's Commercial Division, where Gambhir is requesting an immediate injunction against various defendants, which include social media profiles, e-commerce sites, and intermediaries.

His legal representatives have highlighted a "significant and concerning rise in fake digital content" across platforms such as Instagram, X (previously Twitter), YouTube, and Facebook.

According to the lawsuit, "Numerous accounts have utilized artificial intelligence, face-swapping, and voice-cloning technologies to fabricate realistic videos that misrepresent Mr. Gambhir, including a bogus 'resignation announcement' that attracted over 2.9 million views and a deceptive clip suggesting he made comments regarding senior cricketers' World Cup involvement, which received over 1.7 million views. Furthermore, leading e-commerce platforms are promoting the sale of unauthorized posters and merchandise featuring his name and likeness," as stated in a release from Gambhir's legal team.

The case involves 16 defendants, encompassing identified social media accounts (JanKey Frames, Bhupendra Paintola, Legends Revolution, gustakhedits, cricket_memer45, GemsOfCrickets, Crickaith, Sunny Upadhyay, @imRavY_), e-commerce giants (Amazon, Flipkart), platform intermediaries (Meta Platforms Inc., X Corp., Google LLC / YouTube), as well as the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications, included as proforma parties for the implementation of any court ruling.

Gambhir expressed, "My identity — my name, my image, my voice — has been weaponized by anonymous profiles to disseminate misinformation and profit at my expense. This exceeds personal grievances; it is a legal issue concerning dignity and the rights every public figure must have in the era of artificial intelligence."

The lawsuit invokes sections of the Copyright Act, Trade Marks Act, and Commercial Courts Act, while also referencing prior judgments by the Delhi High Court that acknowledge personality rights, including cases involving notable figures like Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Sunil Gavaskar.

In terms of compensation, the lawsuit seeks damages amounting to ₹2.5 crore, alongside requests for account renditions, a permanent injunction, and the removal of all infringing materials.

The legal action seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting all defendants from using, reproducing, or exploiting Gambhir's name, image, voice, or persona — including through AI, deepfake technology, morphing, and face-swapping — without his explicit written permission.

Additionally, an urgent application for an ex-parte ad-interim injunction has been submitted under Order XXXIX Rules 1 & 2 CPC, aiming for an immediate removal of all infringing content and a halt on any further dissemination until the final hearing.