Delhi High Court Orders Takedown Of Obscene Janhvi Kapoor Content, Refuses To Ban Fan Pages

The Delhi High Court has ordered the removal of obscene and pornographic online content involving actor Janhvi Kapoor but declined to block fan pages as part of her personality rights plea.

Court Seeks Narrower Relief

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani passed the interim order while hearing Kapoor’s suit seeking protection of her personality rights.

Kapoor had sought the removal of more than 5,000 webpages and social media posts, including pornographic AI-generated material, impersonation accounts, fake booking agencies and chatbots allegedly using her identity and personality traits for commercial gain without consent.

The court, however, found the reliefs sought in the petition to be too broad. It directed Kapoor’s lawyers to submit a tabulated list of webpages carrying content that is clearly pornographic, obscene or sexually explicit and appears to directly monetise her personality rights through the sale of merchandise or services.

Court Refuses Blanket Ban On Fan Pages

The court declined to order the removal of fan pages, pointing to concerns over free speech and the broad scope of such a restriction.

Justice Bhambhani observed that fan pages could be complimentary, critical or satirical and questioned how all such pages could be shut down when Kapoor is a public personality.

The court also refused to grant a dynamic injunction covering future content, warning against an approach that could result in an excessively broad restriction on online expression.

Copyright And Personality Rights

The court also examined the overlap between copyright and personality rights.

Justice Bhambhani questioned whether the sale of a copyrighted photograph or artwork featuring a public figure automatically amounts to commercial exploitation of that person’s personality rights.

The court observed that copyright holders generally retain the right to sell their copyrighted work, raising questions over where the boundary lies between legitimate commercial use and unauthorised exploitation of a celebrity’s identity.

Meta Opposes Blanket Internet Cleanup

Appearing for Meta, advocate Varun Pathak opposed the petition and argued that it would not be practically possible to examine all 5,000 links identified in the petition.

The court cautioned Meta against going beyond its role as an intermediary, while also examining the wider implications of imposing extensive obligations on online platforms.

Justice Bhambhani asked the lawyers to assist the court in defining the boundaries of personality rights litigation, observing that the concept had started with limited objectives but was now expanding significantly.

The matter will next be heard on August 17.