The Delhi High Court on Thursday appointed advocate Gautam Bhatia as amicus curiae, meaning a lawyer assisting the Court, in Bollywood actor Janhvi Kapoor’s personality rights suit.
Background
The case concerns thousands of URLs and social media posts allegedly using Kapoor’s name, image and likeness in ways she claims commercially exploit her personality rights. During the hearing, her counsel said the URLs had been categorised as directed by the Court earlier.
The counsel also sought early consideration of the categories for interim relief.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said the issues required assistance and appointed Bhatia to aid the Court in examining the broader questions surrounding personality rights.
The Court ordered:
“Considering the issues involved, this court considers it appropriate to appoint advocate Gautam Bhatia as amicus to assist the court.”
Earlier, the Court had ordered removal of content that was apparently pornographic, obscene or sexually explicit, but declined to impose a blanket takedown of fan pages, noting possible free-speech concerns.
The Court appointed Gautam Bhatia as amicus curiae in Kapoor’s case and fixed the matter for further hearing on September 22, when her plea for interim relief will be considered.
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