Bombay High Court protects Shilpa Shetty's personality rights
India Today
The Bombay High Court has issued a key order protecting Shilpa Shetty's personality rights and addressing the misuse of her identity online. Her lawyer says the ruling sends a strong message about deepfakes and digital impersonation.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued an order safeguarding the personality rights of actor Shilpa Shetty. An official statement from the actor's team confirmed the development, emphasising restraint against using or misrepresenting her name, image, voice, likeness or persona in any manner. The court also directed that defamatory and infringing content circulating across various platforms be taken down immediately.
The order further reinforced that a public figure's identity and reputation cannot be commercially exploited or digitally misused without consent.
"The Bombay High Court has made it absolutely clear in Ms Shilpa Shetty's Personality Rights case that the internet cannot become a playground for deepfakes and digital impersonation. The Court has protected her personality rights and acknowledged that her name, image, voice and persona are valuable legal rights which cannot be commercially exploited or digitally manipulated without her consent. This order reinforces that digital platforms and intermediaries must act swiftly to remove such material and must restrain the misuse of technology that violates her dignity and reputation."
In November 2025, Shetty moved the Bombay High Court seeking the protection of her personality rights. Her lawyer Sana Raees Khan had said, "The misuse of Ms. Shilpa Shetty's name, image and identity has reached a point where legal intervention became imperative."
"Her persona is the product of decades of credibility, discipline and public trust. No platform has the right to weaponise her identity for clandestine commercial gain. Our suit before the Bombay High Court signals zero tolerance for the rampant misuse of celebrity rights," Khan added.
Earlier this year, director-producer Karan Johar sought the Delhi High Court's intervention to protect his personality rights. The petition comes after allegations that Johar's name was being exploited for fundraising, following similar cases involving Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan.
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