Sunil Gavaskar has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court for the protection of his personality rights, the first Indian cricketer to do so. The plea seeks to restrain entities from misusing his name, image, and likeness without consent.
Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights in the matter. He was one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time, and certainly the most successful.
The petition, listed for hearing before Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on December 12, seeks directions restraining several entities from unauthorisedly using his name, image, likeness and other aspects of his persona. He is the first Indian cricketer to initiate personality rights litigation, marking a notable expansion of such disputes beyond the entertainment industry.
Delhi High Court’s Role in Shaping Personality Rights
In recent years, the Delhi High Court has played a pivotal role in shaping the jurisprudence of personality rights. It has granted expansive protections to public figures, including Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan and digital creator Raj Shamani. These rulings have recognised that individuals have an exclusive right to control the commercial use of their persona, especially in an era where misuse can be widespread and instantaneous.
Addressing New-Age Technological Misuse
The Court has also taken cognisance of newer forms of identity misuse arising from technological advancements. Judges have addressed concerns relating to AI-generated impersonations, deepfakes, synthetic voice cloning, manipulated visuals and unauthorised digital merchandise. They have underscored that such impersonations not only violate publicity rights but also infringe upon an individual’s dignity and privacy.
At the same time, the Court has cautioned that constitutionally protected spaces, such as satire, artistic expression, news reporting, and commentary, must remain unaffected.
Court Reinforces Intermediary Accountability
Earlier today, the Delhi High Court issued firm directions to several intermediaries while hearing actor Salman Khan’s petition seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights. The court directed the concerned platforms to treat the plaint as a complaint under the IT Rules, 2021, and to take timely action, signalling the Court’s continued effort to ensure intermediary accountability in identity-based infringements.
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