Delhi HC Protects Singer Jubin Nautiyal's Voice & Image from AI Misuse

A single-judge Bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the interim order in a commercial suit filed by Nautiyal seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights against unauthorised AI-generated content, voice cloning, deepfakes, chatbots and sale of infringing merchandise.

"In the considered opinion of this Court, the plaintiff has a prima facie strong case and having regard to his well-known, popular and well-accepted personality, the balance of convenience is tilted in favour of the plaintiff," ordered Justice Gedela, adding that failure to grant immediate relief would result in irreparable harm to the singer's reputation and identity.

"The irreparable loss and injury which may occasion may not be compensated in monetary terms. The dent and damage to the image and personality of the plaintiff, prima facie, appears to be real and present," the order stated.

In his plaint, Nautiyal claimed that his personality/publicity rights include his name, voice, vocal style and technique, vocal arrangements and interpretations, mannerism and manner of singing, image, caricature, photographs, likeness and signature.

The suit alleged that certain defendants - including AI platforms - were using Machine Learning and generative AI tools to create audio and visual content mimicking the singer's voice, facial expressions and singing style without authorisation.

Nautiyal further stated that the infringing activities included the sale of merchandise such as posters, digital artwork, and other products bearing his name and likeness on online marketplaces like Flipkart and Amazon, falsely suggesting association or endorsement.

After perusing the plaint and accompanying documents, the Delhi High Court restrained the concerned defendants and John Doe entities from directly or indirectly using or exploiting Nautiyal's personality rights through advertisements, merchandise, domain names, AI voice models, synthesised voices, digital avatars, deepfakes, face morphing or any similar technological means across online platforms, social media, websites and the metaverse.

Justice Gedela further directed online intermediaries and e-commerce platforms to take down or block access to identified infringing URLs, posts, videos and applications, and to disclose available details of entities operating such content to assist in identifying violators.

The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications were impleaded to facilitate implementation of the Delhi High Court's directions.

Issuing summons in the suit, Justice Gedela directed defendants to file written statements within 30 days of receipt of summons, along with affidavits admitting or denying the plaintiff's documents.

The matter has been listed before the Joint Registrar on April 28 for completion of service and pleadings and will be taken up by the Delhi High Court on August 25, 2026.

The Nautiyal case adds to a growing list of high-profile personalities invoking their personality and publicity rights before the Delhi High Court.

In recent months, former India cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar, actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (Jr NTR), spiritual leader and Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, actors Nagarjuna, Kajol Devgan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan, film-maker Karan Johar, and podcaster Raj Shamani have secured court protection against the unauthorised use of their identity, likeness, or AI-generated imitations.

- IANS