Cinema VinesThe Delhi High Court has granted actress Tabu an ex‑parte interim injunction that protects her name, image, voice and other personality attributes from unauthorised use, including through artificial intelligence, deepfakes, face morphing and other digital technologies. The order was issued by Justice Jyoti Singh, who heard the actress’s petition and found her case to have a prima facie balance of convenience in her favour, citing the likelihood of irreparable harm without interim protection.
Under the injunction, the court directed several major platforms to remove or disable more than 150 URLs that allegedly carried objectionable content about Tabu. Google was ordered to delete 21, eight and five URLs in three separate sets within 36 hours. Meta was required to take down 73, 28 and five URLs across three documents in the same window. X Corp was directed to remove three identified URLs, eBay Inc must delete URLs numbered 15 to 20 in one document, and Reddit was also ordered to act within 36 hours. The court further asked Google, Meta, X, Reddit and GoDaddy to disclose Basic Subscriber Information and IP log details tied to the accounts, enabling Tabu to trace those behind the content.
Tabu’s petition alleged that her identity was being commercially exploited through fake event‑booking accounts, unauthorised merchandise, fabricated statements and AI‑generated or manipulated obscene content. She claimed that scenes from her films were edited, slowed down or zoomed in on intimate portions and circulated online to attract viewers and generate revenue. An Instagram account with around 2,000 followers had allegedly used her name, images and video clips to offer bookings for her appearances, an association she said she never authorised. Websites were also accused of selling mugs, posters, calendars, hoodies and sweatshirts bearing her photographs.
In addition to the digital content, Tabu highlighted a publication that carried a fabricated and disparaging statement attributed to her. She said she never made the statement, despite her team issuing clarifications to leading newspapers. The court deemed this an “egregious act” and ordered the publisher to delete the statement from all its platforms within three days.
Justice Singh referenced earlier Delhi High Court rulings on personality rights, including D.M. Entertainment v. Baby Gift House, Anil Kapoor v. Simply Life India and Jaikishan Kakubhai Saraf v. Peppy Store, noting that misuse of personality rights is not confined to commercial loss. The court’s decision underscores the growing legal framework protecting public figures from AI‑driven defamation and identity theft.
