In a case that stirred both curiosity and concern in the legal corridors today, filmmaker and television personality Karan Johar appeared before the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights. The petition comes on the heels of similar moves by Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, who had earlier approached the courts to curb the unauthorized use of their names and images online.
Johar alleges that several online platforms have been using his name and likeness to raise money without his consent, a claim he says threatens not just his reputation but also his control over how his identity is used in public spaces.
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Background
Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao represented Johar during the hearing. Rao told the court that multiple websites and social media pages had cropped up, each misusing Johar’s pictures and name for fundraising and promotional activity.
"These are websites where my photos are downloaded. Various pages on various [social media] platforms are in my name," Johar stated through his counsel.
The petition is part of a growing wave of celebrities pushing back against what they call the ‘unregulated trade’ in their online persona - fan pages, parody accounts, and merch sellers using their faces without permission.
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Court’s Observations
Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, contested Johar’s plea, arguing that not all the flagged content could be treated as defamatory. Advocate Varun Pathak, appearing for Meta, cautioned the court against issuing sweeping orders.
“These are ordinary people having comments and having discussion. Now to drag them to Court for making an ordinary joke,” Pathak argued.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora appeared to agree with that caution. The judge pointed out the thin line between harmless fan content and actual disparagement.
"Mr Rao, you have to look at two things one is disparagement, which is different from memes. Memes are not necessarily disparaging.
Then somebody is selling merchandise. Third is your domain name. Please specifically identify it… it cannot be every fan page.
We cannot have an open-ended injunction," Justice Arora remarked during the proceedings.
Rao, however, countered that Johar must retain the right to decide who may use his likeness.
"There is a line between making fun… The more the memes, the more viral it is, the more money you make… I have a right to ensure that nobody uses my persona or my face without my consent," he said, arguing that ignoring the issue would only embolden misusers.
Decision
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Arora hinted that the court might consider issuing take-down orders - but only for specific pages found to be misusing Johar’s persona. The court added that if similar pages reappear in the future, Johar could approach the platforms first, and only return to the court if no action is taken.
"If they don’t, you come to court," Justice Arora said, before adjourning the matter. The case is slated to be taken up again at 4 PM today.
Case Title: Karan Johar v. Ashok Kumar/John Doe & Ors
