The Delhi High Court issued an ex-parte interim order on Wednesday, prohibiting the misuse of actor Anil Kapoor’s name, image, voice, and other attributes of his persona, including the “jhakaas” catchphrase, for commercial purposes.
A single bench of Justice Pratibha M. Singh passed the order in response to a lawsuit filed by the actor. Kapoor alleged that several websites and platforms were exploiting his personality and celebrity rights without authorisation for commercial gain.
Advocate Pravin Anand, representing Kapoor, highlighted various activities involving the unauthorised use of the plaintiff’s personality rights. These included the sale of merchandise without permission, the collection of fees by using Kapoor’s photograph as a motivational speaker, the derogatory morphing of his image, the sale of pictures with forged autographs, and the unauthorised use of the “jhakaas” catchphrase.
The lawsuit aimed to safeguard Kapoor’s personality rights, encompassing his name, voice, image, likeness, manner of speaking, and gestures, among other aspects.
The single bench stressed that while free speech is protected, it becomes illegal when it “crosses the line” and infringes upon individual personality rights, resulting in damage. The court ordered, “Defendants 1 to 16 are restrained from using … in any manner the plaintiff Anil Kapoor’s name, likeness, voice or any other attributes of his personality … for monetary gain or otherwise.” Additionally, the court prohibited unknown individuals from disseminating the offending links and instructed relevant authorities to block the offending platforms.
The bench acknowledged that “fame for a person comes with disadvantages” and underscored that this case illustrates how a celebrity’s reputation and fame can be undermined by such misuse, potentially affecting their right to endorsements.