Delhi High Court passes order in favour of superstar Amitabh Bachchan in personality rights case. (Img: Pinterest)
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has passed a decree permanently restraining individuals and entities from exploiting veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan’s name, image, voice, likeness and other attributes of his personality for commercial purposes without his prior consent.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the decree on November 5, bringing to a close the commercial suit instituted by Bachchan in 2022 against individuals and entities accused of unauthorised commercial exploitation of his personality.
The Court decreed the suit against four defendants with whom the actor had arrived at a settlement. It also extended the relief to four other defendants who had failed to enter appearance or file their written statements despite being served with summons. Significantly, the decree also covers unidentified persons and entities, commonly referred to as 'John Does'.
The settlement involved four defendants, namely Rajat Nagi, who had developed a mobile application titled 'Amitabh Bachchan Video Call'; Manoj Publications, which had published a general knowledge quiz book carrying the actor's photograph; Tamatina, which sold posters featuring his images; and Mahesh Patel, who had registered the domain name amitabhbachchan.in.
Under the settlement, the defendants acknowledged Bachchan's publicity and privacy rights and undertook not to use his name, image, voice, likeness or any other attribute of his personality without obtaining his express permission.
They further agreed to remain bound by the decree, including through their respective legal heirs and business assignees.
Apart from the four defendants who settled the dispute, the High Court also decreed the suit against four others who did not appear before it or submit written statements despite service of summons. The Court thus proceeded to grant the relief sought against these defendants as well, bringing them within the ambit of the permanent injunction.
An important feature of the decree is its extension to unidentified persons or entities (John Does). The Court took note of the continuing nature of the alleged unauthorised exploitation of Bachchan's persona through websites, mobile applications, posters and messaging platforms. Such activities, involving anonymous operators, could otherwise make it difficult for the actor to effectively enforce his personality rights.
By extending the decree to unidentified infringers, the Court ensured that the protection was not confined to the individuals and entities specifically arrayed as defendants in the suit. The Court also granted Bachchan liberty to institute fresh proceedings in respect of any subsequent cause of action and accordingly disposed of the suit.
The latest decree follows an interim order passed by the Delhi High Court on November 25, 2022, when it had granted protection to Bachchan's personality rights. On October 9, 2026, the Court had also indicated that if the actor was unable to resolve the dispute with any of the defendants and wished to pursue the proceedings against them, he would have to appear before the Court.
Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appeared for Bachchan along with advocates Pravin Anand, Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadodia, Dhruv Anand, Bhavya Verma, Unnati Gambani, Sanjeevi Sishadri, Shreya Sethi, Krisna Gambhir and Ritvik Sharma.
