The Delhi High Court has scheduled a hearing on March 23 in a lawsuit filed by Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has sought urgent relief against the alleged misuse of his image, voice, and personality through deepfake content and unauthorised commercial exploitation across social media and e-commerce platforms.
The matter came up before Justice Jyoti Singh on Friday, where Gambhir’s counsel argued that the case raises serious concerns not only about infringement of personality rights but also about the coach’s dignity.
Appearing for Gambhir, Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai told the court that fabricated deepfake videos circulating online have had “material consequence” on his client. He pointed to instances where videos falsely depicted Gambhir resigning as head coach after a poor performance or assaulting a fellow player.
“Some things have material consequences. Imagine the head coach of the Indian team and words are being put in his mouth through deepfake to say he is resigning from the team. It has created a lot of issues,” Dehadrai submitted.
The counsel also highlighted Gambhir’s established commercial value, noting that he has endorsement deals with major brands. According to him, such deepfake content and impersonation directly affect both his professional standing and commercial interests.
The court was informed that one of the users who had uploaded a fabricated resignation video, which garnered around 29 lakh views, removed the content and issued an apology after the lawsuit was initiated.
Emphasising Gambhir’s long association with Indian cricket, spanning 23 years as a player and now as head coach, the counsel sought an interim order to restrain various entities, including unidentified defendants, from continuing to misuse his personality rights.
However, the High Court deferred the hearing after identifying certain discrepancies in the plaint and granted time to Gambhir’s legal team to rectify them.
In his plea, Gambhir has sought directions to curb what he describes as a coordinated campaign involving digital impersonation, AI-generated deepfakes, and unauthorised commercial use of his identity. The suit also raises objections to the sale of merchandise bearing his name and likeness without permission on e-commerce platforms.
The case will now be taken up for further hearing on March 23.
