“The concept of personality rights is acquiring amoebic proportions. Everything is personality rights. But whose personality rights?” asked Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani of Delhi HC. He made this remark while hearing 14-year-old Aaradhya Bachchan’s personality rights case filed on her behalf by her father, Abhishek Bachchan, in 2023. Bar & Bench reported on the proceedings.
Some background: Bachchan’s lawsuit aims to stop various YouTube channels and unnamed defendants (John Doe) from publishing content that harms the Bachchan family’s reputation, including private information and allegedly defamatory material. The lawsuit cites videos falsely claiming Aaradhya was seriously ill, hospitalized, or even deceased, and alleges the Bachchans failed to provide her with timely medical care.
On the doctrine of personality rights, Justice Bhambhani raised the following questions:
- “If a family name is akin to having a reputation attached to a trademark, how far down the generations does such reputation of family name inure?”
- “Does fake news, even if of egregiously despicable nature, amount to an intellectual property (IP) rights violation? If yes, then what kind of IP right is violated?”
- “Can the jurisprudential concept of defamation (slander and libel) or any other form of injury to reputation be conflated with the recognised concept of intellectual property rights?”
“These are the general questions in my mind. This is not exhaustive,” clarified Justice Bhambhani.
“Reputation is not only in a trademark. Passing off law protects much wider than trademarks. The whole family’s pictures are used, words are used to give an impression that this young girl has died and has cancer. Both fake, causing so much of harm. Using the name Bachchan and pictures of the family. Abhishek Bachchan is also a party to the matter.” – Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani (Delhi HC)
In February 2025, in the same case, the Delhi HC issued notices to multiple YouTube channels and websites for circulating false information about Aaradhya’s health status. According to ANI at the time, some websites and YouTube channels posted videos claiming that Bachchan was critically ill or had died. These videos included morphed photographs, such as one showing her surrounded by wreaths. At the time, the court had issued notices to the platforms spreading this misinformation.
A brief updated list of Indian celebrities who claimed personality rights:
August 2026:
- Alakh Pandey, Edtech entrepreneur — Link
July 2026:
- Salman Khan, actor — Link
- Preity Zinta, actor — Link
- Ravi Kishan, actor and politician — Link
- Abhishek Sharma, cricketer — Link
May 2026:
April 2026:
- Anil Kumar Tiwari, aka Aniruddhacharya, Hindu religious orator. — [Order]
- Shilpa Shetty, Hindi actress — [Read]
- Toprankers Edtech, Delhi HC dismissed this case. [Read]
- Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt. Delhi HC hasn’t passed the order yet, and the court will hear the case on May 7, 2026. [Read]
March 2026:
February 2026:
January 2026:
- Pawan Kalyan, actor and AP Deputy CM – [Order]
- Akira Nandan, son of actor and AP Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan — [Read]
December 2025:
- Salman Khan, Hindi actor and producer — [Read]
- Jr NTR, Telugu actor — [Order]
- Chiranjeevi, actor and ex-Rajya Sabha member – [Order]
- R Madhavan, Tamil and Hindi actor — [Read]
November 2025:
October 2025:
- Sudhir Chaudhary, Journalist at DD News — [Read], [Order]
- Jagadish Vasudev, aka Sadhguru — [Read]
- Asha Bhosle, Hindi singer — [Read]
September 2025:
- Nagarjuna, Telugu actor — [Read]
- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Hindi actress — [Read]
- Abhishek Bachchan, Hindi actor — [Read]
- Karan Johar. Hindi actor and producer — [Read]
July 2025:
- Sonu Nigam, singer — [Read]
December 2024:
August 2024:
- Arjit Singh, singer — [Read]
May 2024:
- Jackie Shroff. Hindi actor — [Read]
September 2023:
- Anil Kapoor, Hindi actor and producer — [Read]
November 2022:
- Amitabh Bachchan, Hindi actor — [Read]
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