The Bombay High Court granted actor Preity Zinta permission on June 16 to sue Google and 16 other parties over AI-generated deepfake videos, memes, manipulated images, and chatbot personas of her circulating online, according to medianama.com. The court's order is procedural and does not address the merits of the case. Zinta's legal team argued that as an Indian national residing in Mumbai, her personality rights fall under the court's jurisdiction despite the respondents operating outside it.
Zinta's suit will claim breach of personality rights, which protect control over the commercial use of her name, face, voice, and likeness. It also alleges copyright infringement, including violation of moral rights under Section 62 of the Copyright Act, 1957, and loss of goodwill and reputational harm caused by the AI-generated content. The court's permission was required under Clause XII of the Letters Patent to file the suit in Bombay due to the respondents' overseas offices and the global accessibility of the content.
This case aligns with a growing trend of Indian courts protecting celebrities against AI-driven misuse of their identities. Previous rulings have safeguarded figures like Anil Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, and Rajat Sharma. The courts have also ordered Google to act against AI misuse in cases such as the one involving spiritual leader Sadhguru. These precedents highlight increasing judicial attention on AI-related personality rights violations in India.
The Bombay High Court's procedural order on June 16 enables Zinta's lawsuit to proceed, marking a notable instance of legal action addressing AI deepfake content in India. The next steps will involve the court examining the substantive claims of personality rights breach and copyright infringement as the case unfolds.