The Shilpa Shetty Kundra has secured legal protection over the misuse of her identity after the Bombay High Court ruled in her favour in a personality rights case.
The court ordered the immediate removal of defamatory and infringing online content using her name, image, voice, or persona without permission.
The court granted relief to Shetty by barring defendants from using or misrepresenting her identity in any form. This includes her name, voice, likeness, and overall persona.
The ruling reinforced the principle that public figures’ identities cannot be exploited for commercial purposes or digital manipulation without their consent.
The court also instructed online platforms to remove any defamatory or infringing content related to the actress immediately.
Lawyer welcomes court’s stand on deepfakes
Shetty’s lawyer, Sana Raees Khan, said the decision sets an important precedent in the digital age.
“The Bombay High Court has made it clear that the internet cannot be used for deepfakes or digital impersonation without permission,” she said.
Khan added that the court recognized Shetty’s name, image, voice, and persona as valuable legal rights that cannot be commercially exploited or digitally manipulated without consent.
She further emphasized that digital platforms must respond swiftly to remove such harmful content to protect individuals from reputational damage.
Case filed over AI-generated content
Shetty filed the case in November 2025, seeking protection from platforms hosting AI-generated versions of her without approval.
During the hearings, the court questioned the legitimacy of such AI tools and asked the platforms involved to clarify their role in hosting the disputed content.
The case was heard by Justice Sharmila Deshmukh.
With this ruling, Shetty joins several prominent Bollywood figures who have secured legal protection against misuse of their identity.
These include Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Abhishek Bachchan, and Salman Khan.
Courts in India have increasingly been asked to address cases involving deepfakes, digital impersonation, and the unauthorized commercial use of celebrities’ identities.
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