Delhi High Court Directs Social Media Platforms To Act In 7 Days To Protect Pawan Kalyan's Personality Rights

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed social media giants Meta, Google, and X to promptly act on a complaint filed by Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister and prominent actor, Pawan Kalyan, regarding unauthorised use of his persona.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora ordered the intermediaries to decide on the actor-turned-politician's specific complaints of infringement within one week.

The court has also asked Pawan Kalyan to submit details about infringing links within two days. The Intermediaries have been asked to take action within one week.

"If the intermediaries have any reservations, they can communicate to the plaintiff," the Court stated in its order.

The case has been listed for hearing next on December 22.

The order was passed in a personality rights suit filed by Pawan Kalyan, which alleges that numerous entities on social media platforms and e-commerce sites are exploiting elements of his persona, including his photographs, videos, name, and likeness, for commercial gains without his authorisation.

Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak, appearing for Kalyan, reportedly informed the High Court that despite previous court orders in a similar case of actor Ajay Devgan, the plaintiff's lawyers had written to the intermediaries but received unsatisfactory responses, with much of the infringing material remaining online.

Acknowledging this, Justice Arora permitted Pawan Kalyan to submit the specific URLs to the intermediaries, which are then required to act on them within the mandated week.

"Mr Sai Deepak, we will take it up after 10 days, let them (intermediaries) take action in the meantime," Justice Arora reportedly said.

Pawan Kalyan's move to seek judicial intervention against the misuse of his identity, often for unauthorised commercial gain or through the circulation of deepfakes and manipulated content, follows a rising trend among high-profile Indian public figures.

His brother, senior Telugu actor Chiranjeevi, and actor Akkineni Nagarjuna have previously secured similar protective orders from the same court. The trend is also prominent in Bollywood, with actors like Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Ajay Devgn, filing suits to protect their public identity and commercial rights from digital exploitation.

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