The Delhi High Court has granted interim protection to podcaster and entrepreneur Raj Shamani, directing social media platforms to remove objectionable, unauthorised, and AI-generated content that uses his name, image, voice, or likeness without consent.
Justice Manmeet PS Arora, in an order dated November 17 and released on Thursday, noted that Shamani has built a recognisable presence in India’s content-creation space and enjoys substantial goodwill. Given this, the court held that he is entitled to safeguard his personality rights and prevent third parties from exploiting them for commercial gain.
The judge said the court was prima facie satisfied that Shamani’s personality traits — including his “name, likeness, voice, [and] image” — fall within protectable elements of personality rights.
The order emphasised that he “is also entitled to protect himself against morphed and distorted content which is defaming and demeaning or patently false,” noting that such material could severely harm his reputation and business interests.
Shamani had sought an injunction against the unauthorised use of his persona, along with the removal of deepfake and AI-generated content circulating online. The court directed the concerned social media intermediaries to block, remove, or take down infringing content, including posts misusing his personality or impersonating him through AI tools.
The court also converted his plaint into a suit. Shamani has sought permanent injunctions for:
- trademark infringement
- passing off
- copyright violations
- misappropriation of personality/publicity rights
- infringement of performers’ rights
- and other ancillary reliefs
The court further held that Shamani’s podcast “Figuring Out with Raj Shamani” is protected under the Copyright Act, including his exclusive right to communicate the work to the public. It restrained the defendants from using the registered trademark ‘FIGURING OUT’ and from hosting, streaming, or sharing any of his copyrighted content without authorisation.
The matter will next be heard on April 24, 2026.
The order comes amid an increasing number of public figures approaching courts to protect their identity from misuse, especially in the wake of AI-driven impersonation and deepfake content.
Recently, the Delhi High Court has granted interim relief to several actors and public personalities — including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar, Kumar Sanu, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Ravi Shankar, and Sudhir Chaudhary — who sought protection of their personality and publicity rights.
The case underscores the court’s growing recognition of personality rights as a vital safeguard in the digital era.
