Delhi HC extends personality rights protection to actor Nagarjuna Akkineni

The Delhi High Court granted Telugu actor Nagarjuna protection of his personality rights, orders removal of 14 identified URLs misusing his image, name or videos

After granting protection to several Bollywood actors, the Delhi High Court on Thursday said that it will extend similar relief to Telugu actor Nagarjuna Akkineni, Live Law reported.

 

“When you can identify the URLs, the best is to direct them to take down. As of now, you could identify only 14 URLs. Will pass orders,” Justice Tejas Karia said orally during the hearing.

 

Advocate Pravin Anand, representing Nagarjuna, told the court that the actor was affected by three main issues: pornographic websites using his image, unauthorised sale of merchandise based on his personality traits, and various YouTube videos, the news report said.

 

Earlier, Bollywood actors including Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Anil Kapoor had approached the court to protect their personality rights. Filmmaker Karan Johar also filed a similar suit. Justice Karia had granted relief to Johar, ordering the removal of “disparaging material” against him, including videos, memes, and social media posts.   

 

Court on privacy and dignity

 

The high court recently protected the personality rights of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, noting that “unauthorised exploitation of personal attributes of an individual violates right to privacy and undermines the right to live with dignity".

 

A Bench had restrained entities from misusing the actress’s personal attributes, such as her name and images, using technological tools including artificial intelligence.   

 

  Similarly, in Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan’s case, the court protected his personality rights, preventing misuse of his image, name, voice or other personal elements for commercial gain without consent. The Bench said that using technology to depict Bachchan in misleading, derogatory, or inappropriate settings infringes upon his right to privacy.

 

Celebrities who have sought legal protection in the past

 

In recent years, several actors and public figures have approached courts to safeguard their personality rights:

 

• Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (2025): The court issued orders against unauthorised use of her persona after a firm falsely claimed she was its chairperson

• Abhishek Bachchan (2025): He had sought protection against websites creating fake or sexually explicit content using his likeness

• Jackie Shroff (2024): The court ordered removal of mocking videos titled “Jackie Shroff is savage” and “Thug life"

• Rajat Sharma (2024): He received protection against deepfake videos and fake endorsements

• Mohan Babu (2024): The Delhi High Court restrained AI chatbots, social media and ecommerce platforms from using his name or voice without permission

• Anil Kapoor (2023): He secured protection against misuse of his dialogues and catchphrases like “Jhakaas” and “Mr India"

• Amitabh Bachchan (2022): The court stopped unauthorised use of his name, voice, and image

• Rajinikanth (2015): The Madras High Court restrained the release of Main Hoon Rajinikanth, which used his name and style without approval