Delhi High Court issues John Doe order to protect NTR Junior’s personality rights
It informed that his public association is uniquely tied to his identity and reputation among the general public, and not limited to his fan base.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Delhi High Court has passed a John Doe order protecting the personality rights of actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR Junior, Live Law reported.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora observed that Rao is a well-known public figure in India who has acquired immense goodwill and reputation over the course of a successful career and has attained celebrity status. The Court stated that, prima facie, the plaintiff’s personality traits and parts thereof, including his name, likeness and image, are protectable elements of his personality rights and that he is entitled to seek an injunction against third parties using these rights for commercial gain without authorisation.
The Court further stated that Rao is a recognised actor whose name, image and likeness have acquired substantial goodwill through decades of professional achievements and brand endorsements. It informed that his public association is uniquely tied to his identity and reputation among the general public, and not limited to his fan base.
Justice Arora directed the defendants to refrain from directly or indirectly using the actor’s personality rights, including through the use of his name, photographs or by creating merchandise in any format, including artificial intelligence-generated content and GIFs. The Court also ordered the takedown of various online listings selling merchandise that unauthorisedly used the actor’s personality traits.
The Court stated that if any website or aggrieved party that is not primarily an infringing entity is blocked or affected pursuant to the order, it may approach the Court by giving an undertaking that it does not intend to engage in illegal dissemination of content infringing the plaintiff’s personality rights, following which the Court may consider modifying the injunction depending on the facts and circumstances.
The High Court also directed e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, to file replies and place on record the policies adopted by them for entertaining and deciding complaints relating to infringement of registered trademarks and copyright, as well as the unauthorised use of an individual’s image and likeness for the sale of merchandise.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on May 19, 2026. The Court had earlier directed social media platforms and e-commerce platforms to treat the actor’s suit as a complaint under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Live Law reported that the judge has recently passed similar orders protecting the personality rights of former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and Bollywood actor R Madhavan. Similar suits have also been filed by Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and actor Salman Khan. Coordinate benches of the Delhi High Court have passed orders protecting the personality rights of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Telugu actor Nagarjuna, Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, and film producer Karan Johar.
