Singer Kumar Sanu Moves Delhi HC Seeking Protection of His Personality Rights

Veteran playback singer Kumar Sanu has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora briefly heard Sanu’s plea today. The singer has sought protection of his name, voice, vocal style, technique, vocal arrangements, interpretations, mannerisms, images, caricatures, photographs, likeness, and signature.

In his plea, Sanu has also sought protection against any unauthorised or unlicensed use and commercial exploitation of his persona by third parties, arguing that such actions are likely to cause confusion, deception, and dilution among the public.

During the hearing today, the counsel for Kumar Sanu submitted that the plaintiff is a celebrated personality. It was contended that Defendants 1 to 5 have been using AI voice modulation and cloning to imitate Sanu’s voice and style. The counsel added that distorted and morphed videos of the singer are being circulated online.

One such video, the Court was told, appears on an Instagram page falsely showing Kumar Sanu singing a song for former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. The defendants were also alleged to have engaged in commercial merchandising and to have circulated false and incorrect personal information about the singer through such content.

The videos, counsel said, are being uploaded through URLs that feature morphed visuals and derogatory depictions of the artist.

After hearing the submissions, the Court directed counsel for Defendant No. 7, Meta, Facebook and Google, to take instructions in light of the plaintiff’s contention that the impugned URLs contain morphed videos and profane language, and to clarify why such content should not be removed by the platforms’ grievance officers in accordance with the IT Rules.

The Court remarked, “If you won’t take it down, I will ask you. Everyone is rushing to court. Why has everyone forgotten the IT Rules?”

In response, counsel for the defendant submitted that under the IT Rules, the word “defamation” has been specifically removed, making it difficult for intermediaries to determine what constitutes profanity. The counsel added that such determinations can only be made by the Court, not by the platform.

To this, the Court said, “Whatever you can take down, you may. Otherwise, I’m here.” The Court also directed the plaintiff to provide a tabulated list of URLs corresponding to each defendant, similar to the format followed in actor Jackie Shroff’s case. The matter will now be heard on Wednesday.

The suit, filed through advocates Shikha Sachdeva and Sana Raees Khan, also alleges violation of Sanu’s moral rights in his performances, as protected under the Copyright Act.

Notably, Sanu’s plea comes amid a series of similar actions by public figures seeking to protect their digital and 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: Kumar Sanu Bhattacharjee v. Jammable Limited & Ors

Bench: Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora

Hearing Date: 13 October