Madras High Court Finds Prima Facie Case, Grants Interim Relief to Kamal Haasan in Personality Rights Suit

The Madras High Court on Monday found that a strong prima facie case had been made out in a suit filed by actor and Member of Parliament Kamal Haasan alleging misuse of his personality rights.

Recording that morphed images of the actor had been placed before the court and that his images were being used on merchandise without consent, the bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy restrained the respondents from creating or circulating false images of him through any media and from selling merchandise using his name or image, until the next date.

However, court clarified that the order will not stand in the way of caricature, satire or other forms of permissible creative expression.

Veteran actor and filmmaker Kamal Haasan today made a motion before the High Court seeking protection of his personality rights against alleged unauthorised use of his name, image, likeness and other attributes of his persona through emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence tools.

The suit has been filed against Neeyevidai and unnamed defendants described as “John Does,” a legal device used to proceed against unidentified persons who may be involved in the alleged misuse.

Kamal Haasan, who is also currently a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha for Tamil Nadu, has contended that his name, image, likeness and other attributes of his persona are being exploited, or are likely to be exploited, without his consent through digital platforms and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence tools, making it difficult to identify all violators at this stage.

Appearing before a single judge bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, the actor has sought an interim injunction restraining the defendants and all persons acting on their behalf from using or misappropriating his name, the abbreviation “KH,” his image, likeness or any other attributes exclusively identifiable with him, pending disposal of the suit.

Kamal Haasan is represented in the matter by a team of advocates led by Vijayan Subramanian. The legal team also includes M. V. Bhaskar, N. C. Narindraadithyan, A. Murali, Dhanush M., and Albert Paul R.

Case Title: Kamal Haasan vs. Neeyevidai and Another

Hearing date: January 12, 2026

Bench: Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy