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Delhi High Court grants John Doe order protecting Raj Shamani's personality rights
The order stems from a suit filed by Raj Shamani and his production company, seeking injunctions against unauthorized use of his name, image, likeness, voice, and podcast content across online platforms.
The Delhi High Court has issued a John Doe order safeguarding the personality rights of podcaster and content creator Raj Shamani. The ruling, delivered by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, observed that Shamani is "a known face in India" with established goodwill and reputation in content creation.
The order stems from a suit filed by Shamani and his production company, seeking injunctions against unauthorized use of his name, image, likeness, voice, and podcast content across online platforms.
Justice Arora recognized Shamani's substantial brand value, commercial endorsements, and significant digital following. The Court affirmed that Shamani's name, likeness, voice, image, and identifiable attributes are protectable elements of his personality rights.
"The Plaintiff No. 1 is entitled to seek injunction against the use of his personality rights by third parties for their commercial gains without his authorisation," the Court stated.
Senior Advocate Diya Kapur, arguing for the plaintiffs, submitted that AI-generated deepfakes and fake endorsements featuring Shamani were circulating online. Kapur also raised concerns about unauthorized chatbots impersonating him and misuse of clips, logos, and branding elements from his podcast, Figuring Out with Raj Shamani.
The Court acknowledged that Shamani is entitled to protection against morphed or distorted content, specifically deepfakes and defamatory material, which can damage his reputation. Furthermore, Shamani's production company is entitled to protection under the Copyright Act, 1957, for its podcast content, and both plaintiffs can prevent misuse of their registered trademarks.
The Court restrained multiple defendants, including unknown "John Doe" entities, from misusing or exploiting Shamani’s name, likeness, voice, photos, image, or videos in any form, and from using AI-generated, deepfake, or morphed content involving him.
The Court also directed platforms including Google, Meta, and Telegram to block or remove the infringing content and disclose Basic Subscriber Information of the uploaders within 72 hours.
The matter is scheduled for next hearing on 24 April 2026.
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