Mumbai: The Delhi High Court has passed a John Doe injunction safeguarding the personality rights of Telugu film star Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR Jr, restraining unauthorised commercial exploitation of his name, image and likeness.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora observed that the actor is a widely recognised public figure in India who has, over the course of a long and successful career, built substantial goodwill, reputation and celebrity value. The Court held that NTR Jr’s personality traits—including his name, photographs and likeness—constitute protectable elements under personality rights jurisprudence.
In its prima facie view, the Court said the actor is entitled to injunctive relief against third parties who exploit these attributes for commercial gain, particularly through the sale of merchandise, without his consent. The order specifically restrains defendants from directly or indirectly using the actor’s identity across formats, including digital content such as AI-generated images and GIFs.
The High Court also directed the takedown of multiple online listings found to be selling merchandise that allegedly misappropriated the actor’s personality traits without authorisation. At the same time, the Court provided limited relief to intermediaries or affected third parties, allowing them to approach the Court with an undertaking that they do not intend to disseminate infringing content. Subject to such undertakings, the Court indicated it may consider modifying the injunction where warranted.
In a significant direction to online marketplaces, the Court asked e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, to file replies placing on record their internal policies for handling complaints related to infringement of registered trademarks, copyright, and unauthorised use of an individual’s image or likeness in merchandise sales.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on May 19, 2026. The Court also reiterated that social media and e-commerce platforms are required to treat the actor’s suit as a formal complaint under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Justice Arora has, in recent months, passed a series of similar orders protecting personality rights. These include injunctions in favour of former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and actor R Madhavan. Comparable suits have also been initiated by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and Bollywood actor Salman Khan.
Coordinate benches of the High Court have earlier extended personality rights protection to several other prominent figures, including Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Telugu actor Nagarjuna, Bollywood stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, as well as filmmaker Karan Johar.
More recently, Justice Arora also granted protection to journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, in a case involving the circulation of allegedly misleading and AI-generated videos on social media, and to podcaster Raj Shamani, recognising his growing public profile in the digital content ecosystem.
The latest order adds to the expanding body of judicial precedent in India reinforcing celebrity personality rights in the context of digital platforms, AI-generated content and online commerce.
