The Delhi High Court has granted interim protection to Bollywood actor Kriti Sanon against the unauthorised use of her name, photographs, likeness and voice through artificial intelligence (AI), impersonation accounts and sexually explicit deepfake content. The Court directed several online platforms and other defendants to remove identified objectionable content and restrained the creation or circulation of similar material until the next hearing.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, while passing the order on October 29, 2026, clarified that the protection was limited to specific categories of misuse and that the broader legal questions surrounding personality rights would be examined after hearing the contesting defendants.
Background
Kriti Sanon approached the Delhi High Court alleging that several individuals and online platforms were exploiting her identity without authorisation. Her complaint covered five categories of alleged misuse, including fake booking offers for her appearances, social media accounts falsely claiming to represent her, AI-generated and morphed images, unauthorised merchandise, AI chatbots, synthetic voice models and pornographic deepfakes.
The actor submitted that such content was spreading rapidly and causing harm to her privacy, dignity and commercial interests. She had also approached intermediaries on August 27, 2026, but received an adequate response from only one platform.
The Court observed that personality rights cannot be treated as one single legal claim. They may involve different legal protections, including privacy, publicity rights, passing off, defamation and intellectual property rights. Each claim must independently satisfy its legal requirements.
Explaining the distinction, the Court observed:
"Personality rights is not a single cause of action. It is a description of several distinct claims that may arise when a person's identity is used without consent. The right of publicity, passing off, the right of privacy, defamation, and, where their conditions are met, rights under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Copyright Act, 1957, including performers' rights."
The Court further emphasised that merely using someone's identity does not automatically amount to unlawful conduct. It also recognised that freedom of expression protects legitimate forms of artistic and public discourse, including criticism, satire and parody.
Considering the potential harm caused by sexually explicit deepfakes, impersonation and AI-generated material, the Court found that limited interim protection was necessary.
It directed the concerned intermediaries to disable access to identified URLs and instructed the relevant government authorities to issue blocking directions against websites carrying pornographic deepfakes.
The Court restrained the specified defendants from uploading, hosting, generating or making available further material impersonating Kriti Sanon, sexually explicit or morphed images and videos, AI-generated audio, chatbots or synthetic voice models presented as her, and merchandise of the nature placed on record.
However, the Court expressly clarified:
"Nothing in this order restrains news, review, criticism, commentary, satire, parody, caricature or fan expression which does not fall within the directions specified in para 32."
The Delhi High Court clarified that its observations were only prima facie, meaning preliminary, and would not determine the final rights of the parties. The interim directions will remain subject to further orders after the defendants are heard.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on December 10, 2026.
Case Details
- Case Title: Kriti Sanon v. BBE Marketing Inc. & Ors.
- Case Number: CS(COMM) 1132/2026
- Judge: Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav
- Decision Date: 29 October 2026
