New Delhi [India], October 15 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday indicated that it will pass an injunction order restraining the unauthorised use and AI-based imitation of playback singer Kumar Sanu's voice, likeness, and persona, marking another significant step in the ongoing legal battle over personality rights in the age of artificial intelligence.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, while hearing Sanu's plea, referred to specific paragraphs from the earlier Karan Johar order, where similar relief had been granted to the filmmaker, and said that the same principle would apply to this case. The matter will now be listed for further hearing on March 30, 2026.
During the proceedings, the Court was informed that one of the impugned videos flagged in the suit was not AI-generated but an authentic clip from the Indian Idol television show. Justice Arora noted that since the clip did not infringe the singer's rights, the issue concerning this video would be kept pending.
Advocate Varun Pathak, appearing for Meta Platforms (which owns Facebook and Instagram), submitted that the URLs highlighted by the plaintiff had already been taken down. The Court directed Pathak to ensure that any remaining posts not yet removed should also be taken down. Recording Meta's submission, the Court noted that the plaintiff had flagged 34 infringing URLs, all of which have now become unavailable.
Counsel appearing for Kumar Sanu informed the Court that after advance service of the suit, Defendant No. 3, Opedia AI, had deleted the infringing link associated with the singer's voice imitation.
The case concerns Sanu's plea seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights, including his name, voice, vocal style, mannerisms, and signature singing technique, from unauthorised use, imitation, or cloning through AI and digital media.
The plea alleges that certain online platforms and individuals have been mimicking Sanu's distinctive voice and creating AI-generated content, GIFs, and merchandise using his persona without consent. Such unauthorised acts, the suit argues, amount to a violation of moral rights under the Copyright Act, 1957, and constitute false endorsement and passing off by misleading the public and exploiting the singer's goodwill.
Earlier, Justice Arora had sought clarifications from Sanu's counsel regarding the list of offending web links, directing Meta to verify the URLs and indicate which could be taken down.
The ongoing case is part of a broader trend among Indian celebrities to seek legal protection in the courts to safeguard their digital and personal rights amid the growing misuse of AI and deepfake technology.
In recent months, the Delhi High Court has granted similar protection orders to Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan, noting that AI-generated impersonation poses a serious threat to creative and moral ownership.