Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights from the unauthorised use of his name and image by various online platforms, some of which are allegedly using artificial intelligence to deceive the public.
During a hearing on Tuesday, Sadhguru’s counsel argued that several rogue websites were illegally selling products under his name and misusing his image to lend them credibility. “My name is being exploited to sell products. One such example is the book ‘Garbh Yatra’, which features my image on its cover,” he stated, calling it a case of “clear fraud”.
The court was urged to issue a dynamic injunction to safeguard his personality rights from further infringement. The bench acknowledged the urgency of the matter and said a detailed interim order would be issued soon.
Appearing for Google, a counsel submitted that specific URLs must be reported before the company can take any takedown action, as per standard intermediary rules.
This case follows a similar order in March this year, when the Delhi High Court directed the removal of defamatory videos and content published by a YouTuber targeting the Isha Foundation. The court had emphasised that protecting an individual’s reputation is central to preserving their dignity.
A growing list of Indian public figures like Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff and Arijit Singh have turned to the judiciary in the past to protect their image, voice and name from being exploited without consent.
Amitabh Bachchan moved the Delhi High Court in 2022 to safeguard his image, name, voice and personality rights from unauthorised use. Senior advocate Harish Salve represented the Bollywood legend in the case. On November 25, 2022, the court issued an interim order in response to Bachchan’s petition, which was filed “against the world at large”. The order barred individuals and entities from exploiting or misusing the veteran actor’s personality and publicity rights in any form.