Delhi High Court restricts unauthorized use of Kriti Sanon’s identity rights

The Delhi High Court issued an interim injunction on October 29, 2026, to protect actor Kriti Sanon’s personality rights. The ruling prevents third parties from using her name, image, and voice for unauthorized purposes, specifically citing AI-generated deepfakes, unauthorized voice cloning, and fraudulent endorsement claims.

Under the court’s directive, specified defendants are prohibited from hosting or generating content that misrepresents an association with Sanon. The injunction covers diverse areas, including commercial merchandise, social media impersonation accounts, and AI-driven chatbots. Additionally, the court has ordered online intermediaries to remove specific URLs and directed government authorities to block pornographic websites utilizing non-consensual deepfakes of the actor.

During the proceedings, the court clarified that personality rights do not constitute a single cause of action but rather a collection of interests including privacy, publicity, and protection against defamation. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav noted that while individuals are entitled to protect their identity, the court must balance these claims against the right to free speech, including satire, parody, and news commentary. Appointed amicus curiae Gautam Bhatia warned against overly broad injunctions that could stifle creative expression.

This interim arrangement will remain in effect until the next scheduled hearing, at which point the court will examine the merits of the specific claims.