Delhi High Court Issues Response After Sunil Gavaskar Moves Plea for Protection of Personality Rights
Delhi High Court asks platforms to act on Sunil Gavaskar’s personality rights complaint and remove fake online content.
The Delhi High Court has told online intermediaries to treat Sunil Gavaskar’s lawsuit as a formal complaint. The court said they must start taking down any content that may be infringing on his personality rights.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said Gavaskar should first use the grievance systems that platforms already have. The court will step in only if some issues remain unresolved. The judge said, “Let them act on the complaint. I do not understand why parties are resisting it or why they are not availing that mechanism.”
Intermediaries listed as defendants 7, 10, and 11 have been asked to treat the plaint as a complaint and act within a week. They must also share Basic Subscriber Information and IP details of users who posted the alleged fake content. The court said this will help it “adjudicate better rather than shooting in the dark.”
Gavaskar has 48 hours to send specific URLs of the posts that misuse his name, image, or voice. Once they receive the URLs, platforms must send their decision within a week. The matter will come up again on December 22.
Why Gavaskar Went to Court
Gavaskar says several fake quotes and comments about him have been circulating online. Some of these mention players like Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. He wants an injunction that blocks anyone from using his name, face, likeness, or voice without permission, especially for digital content.
He is the first Indian cricketer to file a personality rights case. Earlier, celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, and creator Raj Shamani received similar court protection.
A Larger Fight Against Online Misuse
Courts in India are now dealing with deepfakes, voice cloning, and synthetic visuals that misuse public figures. They are also trying to stop fake digital merchandise. At the same time, the court says satire, art, news, and commentary will stay protected so that free expression is not harmed.
Personality rights help public figures control how their identity traits are used. These rights matter even more today because of online platforms and fast-growing AI tools. Gavaskar’s move adds pressure on platforms to act quicker on impersonation and fake content while keeping space for genuine reporting and creative work.
