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First for an Indian sportsperson! Delhi HC grants Sunil Gavaskar personality rights protection

Kaushik Kashyap

Sunil Gavaskar protects publicity and personality rights. [Source - @imhydro45/x]Sunil Gavaskar protects publicity and personality rights. [Source - @imhydro45/x]

In a landmark moment for Indian sport, Sunil Gavaskar has become the first Indian sports personality to receive court-backed protection of his publicity and personality rights, underlining the fact how even sporting legends are not immune to digital misuse in the age of AI and deepfakes.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stepped in to safeguard the former Indian opener and renowned commentator from the unauthorized commercial exploitation of his name and image across websites and online platforms.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora passed an order restraining multiple defendants from using Gavaskar’s identity without consent, including through artificial intelligence tools and deepfake technology.

Online misuse of Gavaskar’s image sparks urgent court intervention

As reported by PTI, what led to this urgency was the presence of obscene and misleading content circulating online using Sunil Gavaskar’s image. The court ordered that such material must be taken down within 72 hours, a warning that if platforms fail to comply with, social media intermediaries would do the job.

Notably, Gavaskar’s attempt to seek relief was as early as on December 12, where the high court had directed social media platforms to act on his complaint within seven days under the IT Rules, 2021.

While some content was removed following those directions, the court was informed on Tuesday that several violations continued to remain across the internet, pushing for a stronger intervention.

Gavaskar’s petition seeks to prevent the misuse of his name, images, voice and overall persona for commercial gain, reaffirming the principle that personality rights include the right to control and profit from one’s own identity.

In recent months, several public figures from cinema, music and media, such as Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Pawan Kalyan, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgan, Karan Johar and others, have secured similar legal protection.