In a major win for Bollywood icon Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, the Delhi High Court has signaled it will soon issue an interim order to safeguard her personality rights. This comes as the court tackles growing concerns over the misuse of celebrities’ images, especially with AI-generated content flooding online spaces.
During Tuesday’s hearing, a single judge bench led by Justice Tejas Karia reviewed Aishwarya’s lawsuit. She’s fighting to protect her name, image, likeness, and unique persona from unauthorized commercial exploitation by companies and online platforms. Aishwarya wants to stop entities from using her attributes without permission, a problem that’s hit celebrities hard in the digital age.
Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing the former Miss World, laid out the shocking details. He explained how scammers exploit Aishwarya’s fame by slapping her name and face on everything from merchandise to explicit content. “It’s shocking. Her morphed pictures are being used. It is all AI generated. The defendant is collecting money by putting my face and name,” Sethi told the court, highlighting the deepfake dangers in Bollywood celebrity rights cases.
Sethi pointed to specific culprits, like a company called Aishwarya Nation Wealth. They cheekily used her photo on their letterhead and even named her as their chairperson without any approval. He also called out websites peddling Aishwarya Rai wallpapers and photos for download, plus another seller hawking T-shirts printed with her images. These acts not only invade her publicity rights but also fuel illegal profits.
Justice Karia listened intently and indicated the court would likely grant an ad-interim injunction against these defendants. This temporary order aims to halt the misuse right away, giving Aishwarya some immediate relief in her personality rights battle. A full detailed order is pending upload on the Delhi High Court website, and the case heads to the next hearing on January 15, 2026.
This isn’t the first time the Delhi High Court has stepped in for Bollywood stars facing similar image misuse. Back in May this year, it issued an ad-interim injunction for actor Jackie Shroff. The court ruled that selling autographed pictures of him clearly violated his personality rights and blocked an e-commerce site from offering such items. It also deemed the sale of wallpapers as a prima facie breach, setting a strong precedent for protecting celebrity personas in India.
As AI tools make it easier to fake and exploit images, cases like Aishwarya Rai’s and Jackie Shroff’s spotlight the urgent need for stronger laws on digital rights and deepfakes. Fans and legal experts alike will watch closely for the final ruling, hoping it sets a benchmark against Bollywood personality rights infringement.
