New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Friday deferred the hearing on a plea filed by former India cricketer and current head coach Gautam Gambhir seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights against alleged digital impersonation, deepfake content and unauthorised commercial exploitation of his identity.

A single-judge Bench of Justice Jyoti Singh posted the matter for further hearing on March 23 after noting discrepancies in the pleadings and directing the plaintiff to file a corrected memo of parties.

“There is discrepancy in the body of the plaint and the memo of parties in describing the defendants. Let the amended memo of parties be filed in consonance with the body of the plaint,” Justice Singh observed.

The suit has been filed before the Commercial Division of the High Court against 16 defendants, including several social media accounts, e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart, intermediaries including Meta Platforms Inc., X Corp., Google LLC (YouTube), as well as the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications as proforma parties.

In his plea, Gambhir has alleged a “coordinated campaign of digital impersonation” involving the use of Artificial Intelligence tools such as face-swapping and voice-cloning to create highly realistic but fabricated content falsely depicting him.

According to the suit, there has been a “sharp and alarming increase” in such content across social media platforms including Instagram, X, YouTube and Facebook.

Gambhir has placed on record instances of viral deepfake videos, including a purported “resignation announcement” which garnered over 29 lakh views, and another clip falsely attributing remarks to him regarding senior cricketers’ participation in the World Cup, which drew more than 17 lakh views.

It has been contended that such content not only misleads the public but also has the potential to cause significant reputational and professional harm, particularly given Gambhir’s current role as head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team.

The plea also raises concerns over unauthorised commercial exploitation, alleging that e-commerce platforms are facilitating the sale of posters and merchandise bearing Gambhir’s name and likeness without his consent.

Gambhir has stated that his “identity — name, face, and voice — has been weaponised” by anonymous entities to spread misinformation and generate revenue.

The suit has been filed under provisions of the Copyright Act, Trade Marks Act and the Commercial Courts Act, and has sought a permanent injunction restraining all defendants from using, reproducing or exploiting his name, image, voice or persona — including through AI and deepfake technologies — without express written consent.

The plea further seeks damages of Rs 2.5 crore, rendition of accounts, and directions for removal and takedown of all infringing content. An application for ex-parte ad-interim injunction under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) has also been filed, seeking immediate relief including blocking and removal of such content pending final adjudication.

The matter will now be taken up for further hearing on March 23.

The Gambhir case adds to a growing list of high-profile personalities invoking their personality and publicity rights before the Delhi High Court.

In recent months, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, spiritual leader and Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, actors Nagarjuna, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan, singer Jubin Nautiyal, film-maker Karan Johar, and podcaster Raj Shamani have secured court protection against the unauthorised use of their identity, likeness, or AI-generated imitations.

–IANS

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