Delhi High Court Grants Interim Relief to Shashi Tharoor Against Deepfake Video
Court Protects Tharoor's Rights
On Saturday, the Delhi High Court provided interim protection to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in response to a petition concerning a deepfake video allegedly created using artificial intelligence. The court affirmed that Tharoor possesses rights related to his personality and reputation. Justice Mini Pushkarna, while hearing the petition aimed at safeguarding Tharoor's personal rights and reputation, noted that there appears to be a case in his favor. The court prohibited unidentified individuals from creating or disseminating artificial media using his identity through AI and related technologies.
Removal of Infringing Content Ordered
The court instructed X Corp to remove specified links containing the alleged deepfake content and directed Meta to ensure that previously blocked Instagram URLs remain inaccessible.
Legal Action Against Deepfake Video
This ruling came in the wake of a civil suit filed by Tharoor, seeking a permanent injunction against the misuse of his personality, voice, image, and public persona through AI-generated deepfake videos.
Allegations of Misrepresentation
Senior advocate Amit Sibal, representing Tharoor, argued that the fabricated videos falsely imitated the Congress leader's face, voice, vocabulary, and manner of speaking. The petition claimed that the manipulated videos depicted Tharoor making politically sensitive remarks, including statements allegedly praising Pakistan's diplomatic strategies. The lawsuit asserted that this content has severely damaged his credibility and public reputation.
Court Acknowledges Tharoor's Public Image
The court noted that Tharoor, a former UN Under-Secretary-General and ex-Minister of State for External Affairs, has built significant goodwill and public trust over decades of public service. The lawsuit indicated that the alleged deepfake videos emerged around March 2026 and continued to circulate despite fact-checking by media organizations and independent agencies. Sibal emphasized that this case pertains to the protection of an individual's personality rights and reputation, highlighting that similar videos have repeatedly surfaced through various URLs even after removal. Meta's attorney informed the court that the Instagram URLs mentioned in the complaint had been made unavailable since Friday morning.
Court's Interim Findings
In its interim findings, the court recognized that Tharoor's "reputation, goodwill, name, physical appearance/image/likeness, voice, mannerisms, style, distinctive speech patterns, and other characteristics are uniquely identifiable and associated with him," thus forming part of his protected personality. The High Court further stated that the rights to personality and publicity are safeguarded under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.