‘Act on Salman Khan’s suit on personality rights protection within 3 days ‘: Delhi HC to social media platforms
Earlier, the Delhi High Court, in a lawsuit of actor Ajay Devgn, had ruled that parties must first approach social media intermediaries for the removal of infringing content.
The Delhi High Court has directed social media platforms to act on Salman Khan’s complaint against unauthorised use of his personality within three days. (ANI Photo)
The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed social media intermediaries to treat actor Salman Khan’s lawsuit, which objects to unauthorised content misappropriating his personality on their platforms, as a formal complaint. They are required to take necessary action to remove such content within three days.
In a notable development regarding the adjudication of personality rights cases, the Delhi High Court issued an order on November 27 in the lawsuit of actor Ajay Devgn, who sought protection of his personality rights. The court had ruled that parties must first approach social media intermediaries for the removal of infringing content and exhaust the available remedies under the statutory mechanism, before approaching courts.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, in the November 27 order, observed that celebrities are frequently approaching the court directly without availing the statutory mechanism. This practice, therefore, undermines “the objective of IT Intermediary Rules”, that is, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, which provides a mechanism for content takedown by reporting it to the social media intermediary. It also provides for a grievance officer who is responsible for addressing such complaints.
The court had noted, “The intent of the statutory mechanism is to provide an effective remedial mechanism to the complainant as well as to reduce burden on the judicial system.”
Referring to this order, which was also subsequently cited in a similar case involving actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR Junior, on December 8, the Delhi HC on Thursday directed Khan to pursue a similar course of action with the social intermediaries first.
Prior to the order in Devgn’s case, the court would pass an ex parte order instructing social media intermediaries to remove objectionable content from websites. For non-social media intermediary entities, the court on Thursday indicated that it would pass interim orders prohibiting unauthorised use.
In his lawsuit, Salman Khan sought protection for his personality rights, while objecting to unauthorised use of his name and likeness in merchandise sold on e-marketplaces and websites, as well as his trademarks being perpetuated through social media platforms such as Telegram and others.
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Several celebrities have moved the Delhi High Court since September this year seeking protection of their personality rights and requesting takedown orders for unauthorised use of their images, persona, and likeness for commercial purposes. Apart from challenging such use for unauthorisedly selling merchandise and the use of chatbots, the celebrities have also objected to the use of AI deepfakes for inappropriate and unauthorised content.
Additionally, several lawsuits challenge the use of memes and GIFs. Thus far, the court has refrained from issuing ex parte injunctions without hearing from the platforms hosting such memes and GIFs.
Among the celebrities who have been before the Delhi High Court are Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Karan Johar, Kumar Sanu, Telugu actor Nagarjuna, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Sankar, Ajay Devgn, and NTR Junior.
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.
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