Mumbai, March 10 – The Bombay High Court has issued an order protecting the personality rights of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty from misuse.
In its order, the High Court has directed the defendants to refrain from using or misrepresenting her name, image, voice, likeness, or persona in any way.
Furthermore, the Court has also directed that defamatory and infringing content circulating on various platforms be immediately removed, thereby reinforcing that a public figure’s identity and reputation cannot be commercially exploited or digitally misused without consent.
This latest order places the responsibility on digital platforms and intermediaries to act swiftly in removing such unlawful content.
Reacting to the latest development in the case, Supreme Court lawyer Sana Raees Khan, who is representing Shilpa, welcomed the Court's landmark move against deepfakes.
She stated, “The Bombay High Court has made it absolutely clear in Ms. Shilpa Shetty’s case regarding her personality rights that the internet cannot become a playground for deepfakes and digital impersonation. The Court has protected her personality rights and acknowledged that her name, image, voice, and persona are valuable legal rights which cannot be commercially exploited or digitally manipulated without her consent."
“This order reinforces that digital platforms and intermediaries must act swiftly to remove such material and must restrain the misuse of technology that violates her dignity and reputation," the lawyer added.
Shilpa had approached the Bombay High Court in November 2025 seeking protection of her personality rights.
Recently, the High Court questioned the legal standing of the various artificial intelligence tools used to simulate celebrity personalities without any consent.
It should be noted that Shilpa is not the first celebrity to receive legal protection against the misuse of their persona on the internet.
Before the 'Dhadkan' actress, several Bollywood celebrities such as Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Abhishek Bachchan, and Salman Khan, along with others, have had their personality rights protected.