Delhi HC Protects Hrithik Roshan’s Personality Rights, No Immediate Takedown of Fan Pages

Granting relief to Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the removal of specific  posts that infringe upon the actor’s personality rights, including the unauthorized use of his name, image, and likeness.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, however, declined to order the immediate takedown of fan pages, observing that such an action could not be passed ex parte at this stage. It asked the defendants to provide the Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) of the creators of these fan pages to the plaintiff within three weeks, allowing Roshan to implead them as parties so that they may be heard before any further direction is issued.

During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for Roshan, argued that several defendants were using the actor’s name and image without permission for commercial gain. “Bags, T-shirts, and other merchandise are being manufactured using my name,” Sethi submitted.

Taking the Court through the alleged infringing content, Sethi said, “Page No. 117 is showing me in poor light; they are carrying my image, an altered image. They are using my image without my consent. The defendants are using my voice… similarly, My Lords, the AI chatbox is talking as if it were the plaintiff.”

Sethi further contended that these fan pages were commercialising Roshan’s image, “generating revenue by virtue of my identity.”

The Court, however, noted, “Other than the fact that these are fan pages, what other posts have been made by them?”

Sethi responded that there were both authorised and unauthorised fan clubs, some of which were using Roshan’s name for profit.

Rejecting the plea for blanket takedown, the Court observed, “We can’t have fan clubs taken down at this ex parte stage. Let those fans come; Mr. Roshan will then have to seek takedown of each fan club. He can’t pick and choose. From whatever law I have studied, I’m not willing at this stage to order removal of fan pages. We’ll have Meta give you BSI details; you may implead them, we’ll hear them, and then decide the issue.”

 Court further remarked that the use of Instagram is not necessarily commercial, “People do it for pleasure, for fun, for recreation. These pages don’t seem to infringe your privacy or defame you. We are agreeing to most of the reliefs you’re seeking, but not this one. You have to provide specific URLs.”

Recording its order, the bench noted submissions made by Advocate Varun Pathak, appearing for Meta, “These profiles are declared fan pages of the plaintiff. Subject to the plaintiff providing individual links for fan pages he finds offensive, Meta will take down those specific posts. However, removing the entire profile would be disproportionate.”

Accordingly, the Court directed that specific URLs listed at pages 118, 119, and 121 of the plaintiff’s documents be taken down, and that the defendants provide the BSI details of the fan page creators within three weeks.

The matter will next be heard on March 27, 2026.

Before the High Court, Roshan has sought protection of his personality and publicity rights, including his name, voice, image, likeness, and other attributes, alleging that third parties were exploiting these for monetary gain.

Notably, Roshan’s plea comes amid a series of similar actions by public figures seeking to protect their personality rights.

Recently, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Telugu actor Nagarjuna, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, and Bollywood celebrities, including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Karan Johar, have approached the Court over unauthorised use of their likeness and identity.

Case Title: HRITHIK ROSHAN v. ASHOK KUMAR & ORS

Bench: Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora

Hearing Date: 15 October 2025