Bollywood actor Janhvi Kapoor has secured interim protection from the Delhi High Court against obscene content, impersonation and AI-generated deepfakes using her name, image and likeness. However, the court stopped short of imposing a blanket ban on fan pages.
According to the Indian Express, Kapoor approached the court seeking protection for her personality rights. Her counsel cited thousands of online links allegedly involving pornographic content, fake accounts, deepfakes and unauthorised commercial use of her identity.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said the court was inclined to order the removal of clearly obscene and profane material. He also indicated protection against content that directly monetises Kapoor’s personality rights or uses her identity to sell merchandise or services.
However, the judge questioned whether every fan page should face a takedown order. Some pages may contain criticism or satire rather than infringement, he observed.
“I want you all (counsels) to assist me to give sanity to the concept of personality rights. It is going out of hand,” Bhambhani said.
Kapoor’s lawyer, Asav Rajan, said fake profiles on Meta-owned platforms and X were also being used to spread misleading information about the actor.
The court stressed the need to balance celebrity rights with legitimate criticism and expression. It said intervention could be justified in cases involving obscenity, commercial exploitation or extremely inappropriate content, but questioned the need to shut down all fan clubs.
“How do we draw the line?” the judge asked, stressing that personality-rights claims should not become a tool to restrict legitimate expression.
Kapoor’s counsel maintained that the disputed material included impersonation, obscene images and commercial exploitation of the actor’s identity.
