Premium

Karan Johar latest celeb to move Delhi HC, flags disparaging memes

The filmmaker and producer also sought protection of his publicity and personality rights

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Sep 16, 2025 03:48 AM IST

Johar is the latest to join the list of celebrity A-listers, who have moved the Delhi HC for protection of their personality and publicity rights this month. (File Photo)

Hearing a suit by filmmaker and producer Karan Johar against disparaging content by social media intermediaries, the Delhi High Court on Monday said a mechanism can be put in place to take action in such cases.

The court of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said, “We can put a mechanism in place that ‘this is a disparaging meme, they (social media intermediaries) have to take action in 24 hours’.”

Justice Arora further remarked orally that disparagement is not the same as memes and that there can’t be an open-ended injunction.

The court is due to take up the matter further at 4 pm today.

Johar, in his suit, also sought protection of his publicity and personality rights. He is the latest in a list of celebrity A-listers who have moved the Delhi HC for protection of their personality and publicity rights this month.

Last week, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan were given protection by the court.

Johar, in his suit, has taken objection to disparaging memes against him, as well as the use of his name unauthorisedly to sell merchandise. He primarily raised the issues of disparagement and protection of his publicity and personality rights.

Story continues below this ad

Johar’s counsel, senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, before Justice Arora, pointed out that his name is being used unauthorisedly to raise funds. It is “now becoming a recurring trend”, he said. “At some point, lines are crossed.”

Admitting that Johar “lives off” the fan base he has and also gets “publicity even when someone pokes fun” at him, Rao, however, pointed out “that somewhere, there (has to be) an element of self-restraint.”

The court has sought that Johar distill the exact reliefs he is seeking against the infringing actions of various users he has objected to in his suit.

Earlier last week, the Delhi HC, recognising the Bachchan couple’s right to publicity and personality rights, had ordered takedowns and injuncted users from using their name, identity, photos, initials, etc, while adding that courts cannot turn a blind eye to such nature of infringement.

Sohini Ghosh

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Recommendations...

May 08: Latest News

Live Blog