Delhi HC restrains unauthorised use of Ramdev’s name, image

Delhi HC prohibits unauthorized use of Ramdev's name and image, citing deepfake videos as misappropriation of his goodwill.

The Delhi High Court has barred the unauthorised use and misappropriation of Yoga guru Ramdev’s name, image, voice and other personality attributes across all formats and platforms, including content created using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology.

In an interim order safeguarding Mr. Ramdev’s personality rights, Justice Jyoti Singh observed that the unauthorised deepfake videos and social media pages portraying him as endorsing various products, cures, or medicines prima facie amounted to misappropriation and commercial exploitation of his goodwill. The court noted that such content not only infringed on his rights but also adversely affected his public image and had the potential to damage his credibility.

The court further directed the various platforms to remove content Mr. Ramdev has objected to within 72 hours of receiving the order.

“This Court prima facie finds that the impugned contents are not only violative of the plaintiff’s (Ramdev) right to protect his image, voice, likeness and other attributes of his persona, but also go a step further. By using modern technology such as AI, the plaintiff’s images have been altered and/or associated with individuals and products with which he has no connection,” the court said in its February 18 order.

The court clarified that content covered by the exceptions of parody, caricature, and lampooning has not been directed to be taken down.

In his lawsuit, Mr. Ramdev said he had been subjected to an “unprecedented and alarming onslaught of AI-generated deepfake videos, manipulated photographs, impersonating social media accounts, distorted caricatures and fabricated endorsements” across multiple platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X as well as e-commerce websites.