The Delhi HC directed intermediaries to act on Sunil Gavaskar's lawsuit over personality rights infringement. The court asked the ex-cricketer to first file a complaint with the platforms and provide URLs before it adjudicates unresolved issues.
Court Directs Intermediary-First Approach
The Delhi High Court on Friday issued directions to intermediaries to treat Sunil Gavaskar's lawsuit as a formal complaint and begin the takedown process for allegedly infringing content. During the hearing, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora reiterated her long-held view that plaintiffs must first approach intermediaries before seeking judicial intervention and asked the plaintiff to first approach the intermediaries, and then the court will take it up. "Let them act on the complaint. I don't understand why parties are resisting it or why they are not availing that mechanism," the judge said.
The Court observed that intermediary grievance-redressal systems would "largely take care" of the plaintiff's issues, adding that the Court would address only what remains unresolved. "The Court is then in a better position to adjudicate it, rather than shooting in the dark," Justice Arora said.
Specific Directives Issued
The High Court recorded the intermediaries' submission that they would provide the Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) and IP details of the alleged infringers. It then issued specific directions: Defendants 7, 10 and 11 (the intermediaries) must treat the plaint as a complaint and decide on it within a week. The plaintiff has been directed to provide specific URLs of the infringing content within 48 hours through the appearing counsel. The intermediaries must communicate their decision to the plaintiff within a week of receiving the URLs. The matter will be taken up next on December 22.
Gavaskar Seeks Protection of Personality Rights
Senior Advocate Gopal Jain, appearing for Gavaskar, submitted that the former cricketer is seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights. Some of the infringing material cited includes fake critical comments attributed to Gavaskar about Gautam Gambhir and other cricketers, as well as a fabricated comment regarding Virat Kohli.
Former cricketer Gavaskar, widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in the history of the sport, has approached the Delhi High Court to safeguard his personality rights. His petition seeks an injunction restraining unauthorised use of his name, image, likeness, voice and other aspects of his persona, especially across digital platforms. He becomes the first Indian cricketer to initiate personality-rights litigation, marking a shift in such disputes beyond the film industry.
Expanding Jurisprudence on Personality Rights
In recent years, the Delhi High Court has expanded jurisprudence on personality rights through significant rulings protecting public figures such as Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan and digital creator Raj Shamani. These judgments recognise an individual's exclusive right to control commercial use of their persona in an age of widespread digital misuse.
The Court has also addressed concerns over emerging forms of impersonation and misuse, including AI-generated deepfakes, voice cloning, synthetic visuals and unauthorised digital merchandise. Judges have stressed that such acts not only violate publicity rights but also the dignity and privacy of individuals, while clarifying that spaces like satire, artistic expression, news reporting and commentary must remain unaffected. (ANI)
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