New Delhi : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday observed that several infringing links flagged by cricketer and former MP Gautam Gambhir have been taken down, and said it would pass a detailed interim order in the matter.
The case was heard by Justice Jyoti Singh. At the outset, Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, appearing for Gambhir, thanked the court for granting time to rectify defects in the application. He informed the bench that multiple defendants had already removed the offending content. However, he highlighted that fresh instances and repeated uploads of similar material continue to surface online, and sought a dynamic injunction to curb such reposting.
Dehadrai submitted that although several links had been taken down as of Wednesday morning, the issue persists due to continuous replication of the content. Appearing for Meta Platforms Inc., Advocate Varun Pathak stated that most of the infringing content on its platforms is now inaccessible.
Taking note of the submissions, the court said it would issue a detailed interim order, which may include directions for removal of infringing material and disclosure of details of those responsible for uploading it.
Gambhir has filed a civil suit seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights, alleging misuse of his identity through AI-generated deepfakes, impersonation, and unauthorised commercial exploitation. The plea also raises concerns over the unauthorised sale of merchandise, including posters bearing his name and image, on e-commerce platforms without his consent.
The case has been filed against multiple parties, including social media accounts, e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart, as well as intermediaries like Meta Platforms Inc., X Corp. and Google LLC. Government bodies, including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications, have also been arrayed as parties.
The plea invokes provisions under the Copyright Act, 1957, the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. It also cites earlier rulings of the Delhi High Court in cases involving Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Sunil Gavaskar, which recognised personality rights as enforceable in law, including in matters involving misuse through artificial intelligence.
