The Bombay High Court directed the immediate removal of all deepfake videos, morphed images, AI-generated content and other unauthorised material featuring Bollywood actor Priety Zinta, observing that the misuse of such content infringes upon an individual’s fundamental rights.
Justice Madhav Jamdar, while granting interim relief to the actor, said the unauthorised use of a person’s likeness through artificial intelligence can violate personality, publicity and moral rights protected under the Constitution. The court also reminded social media platforms and other intermediaries of their responsibility to exercise due diligence under the Information Technology Rules.
During the hearing, the court remarked that online intermediaries must act promptly against such content, warning that failure to do so would amount to facilitating violations of citizens’ fundamental rights.
Zinta approached the High Court after discovering AI-generated videos, morphed images and chatbot-style interactions using her identity without permission. Her counsel, Venkatesh Dhond, informed the court that nearly 275 websites were hosting deepfakes, superimposed visuals and other manipulated content featuring the actor.
The court noted that she has built a valuable public identity over a film career spanning more than 25 years, and observed that the unauthorised use of her image, likeness and mannerisms could seriously damage her reputation.
Holding that a prima facie case had been established, the High Court ordered the immediate takedown of all fake and manipulated content featuring the actor from various online platforms.
The bench further observed that personality rights, publicity rights and moral rights are protected under Article 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty, which also encompasses the right to live with dignity.
A deepfake is AI-generated synthetic media that manipulates a person’s face, voice or appearance to create highly realistic but fabricated images, videos or audio recordings, raising growing concerns over privacy, identity theft and misinformation.
