Telugu film star Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr, popularly known as Jr NTR, has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights amid alleged misuse of his name, likeness and image on social media platforms and e-commerce websites.
The plea came up for hearing on Monday before Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, who directed the online platforms to treat the actor’s suit as a formal complaint under the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 and take necessary steps within three days. The court said a formal order will be passed later and listed the matter for further hearing on December 22.
Appearing for Jr NTR, senior advocate J Sai Deepak argued that the actor’s publicity and personality rights were being infringed due to the circulation and sale of unauthorised and objectionable material online, urging the court to intervene and extend protection.
During a previous hearing involving actor Ajay Devgn, the court had observed that individuals seeking takedown of objectionable content must first approach the concerned platforms before moving the court — a principle now being followed in similar petitions relating to personality rights.
Personality rights, often referred to as the right to publicity, empower an individual to control, protect and commercially benefit from their name, image, likeness and other identifiable aspects of their persona.
A growing number of public figures have recently sought judicial intervention to curb digital misuse of their identity. The Delhi High Court has granted interim relief in similar cases filed by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgn, filmmaker Karan Johar, singer Kumar Sanu, Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, spiritual leader Ravi Shankar, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary and podcaster Raj Shamani.
The court’s final order in Jr NTR’s plea is expected after further hearing later this month.
