HC protects MP Shashi Tharoor's personality rights, directs removal of deepfake video
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court has protected the personality rights of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and directed X to take down a AI-generated deepfake video purportedly showing him praising Pakistan's diplomacy.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, in an interim order passed on Tharoor's lawsuit, also restrained the misappropriation of the Thiruvananthapuram MP's name, image, distinct voice, "signature oratorical cadence and manner of speaking", "highly refined vocabulary" and other facets of his persona to create and publish any deepfakes, voice-cloned audio, morphed videos, etc. for any commercial, political, or malicious purpose across any physical or virtual medium.
The court also asked Meta to ensure that certain offending reels on Instagram, which it made inaccessible, continue to remain so.
Tharoor earlier moved the court against the repeated publication of deepfake videos purportedly showing him making "politically sensitive" statements. His senior counsel asserted that such content not only tarnished his reputation but also affected India's international standing.
Justice Pushkarna, in the interim order, said Tharoor is a "respected and recognised public figure", who has "exclusive control" over the utilisation of his personality, and misappropriation of any attribute of his personality without his express permission and any consequent harm to his reputation is liable to be restrained.
"It is no more res intergra that personality rights/publicity rights are protectable under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India, 1950. The plaintiff's reputation, goodwill, name, physical appearance/image/likeness, voice, mannerisms, styles, signature oratorical style, and other attributes are uniquely identifiable and associated with the plaintiff. The same form the plaintiff's 'personality', over which the plaintiff enjoys sole and exclusive control," the court stated.
"Defendant no. 1 (Ashok Kumar /John Doe) are restrained from reproducing, misappropriating, or imitating any facet of the plaintiff's persona, including, but not limited to his (i) name, (ii) visual likeness and image, (iii) distinct voice, (iv) signature oratorical cadence and manner of speaking, and (v) highly refined vocabulary, to create, publish, or disseminate any synthetic media, deepfakes, voice-cloned audio, or morphed videos, through the use of AI, Generative AI, Machine Learning, or any other technology, for any commercial, political, or malicious purpose, across any physical or virtual medium. Defendant no. 2 is directed to forthwith take down and block access to the following link as available on its platform 'X'," it ordered.
The court clarified that in case of further "false, fake and infringing videos", Tharoor shall be at liberty to approach the social media platforms for taking them down.
It also asked the social media platforms to give Tharoor the complete identity, registration particulars, Basic Subscriber Information, IP login details, phone numbers, and email addresses of the uploaders, creators, and registrants of the infringing accounts within three weeks.
In the lawsuit, Tharoor said that in or around March 2026, he discovered a "sophisticated, malicious campaign orchestrated by unknown infringers" across social media platforms, maliciously depicting him making politically sensitive statements praising Pakistan.
Tharoor was represented by senior advocate Amit Sibal and law firm Trilegal.
The lawsuit contended that the unauthorised cloning and exploitation of Tharoor's likeness, voice and mannerisms infringed his personality and publicity rights and also constituted a serious violation of his right to privacy.
"These infringers have weaponised artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to generate hyper-realistic audio-visual deepfakes by cloning the plaintiff's face, voice, vocabulary, and mannerisms. These fabricated videos maliciously depict the plaintiff making politically sensitive statements that he never made," the plea said.
"Crucially, as the plaintiff was actively campaigning for the Kerala Legislative Assembly elections 2026 in March and early April -- the disinformation campaign was especially damaging. It was a deliberate attempt to tarnish his patriotic credentials, manipulate public perception, and unlawfully interfere with the democratic electoral process," it added.
Several public figures like actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Salman Khan, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, podcaster Raj Shamani and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan have previously approached the high court seeking protection of their personality and publicity rights. The high court granted them interim relief.
Recently, the high court also protected the personality rights of cricketer Gautam Gambhir and actors Sonakshi Sinha, Vivek Oberoi and Allu Arjun by granting interim relief.
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Deepika Kumari leads Indian recurve archery team to dramatic World Cup gold
Shanghai (PTI): The Indian trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and teenager Kumkum Mohod held their nerve in a tense shoot-off to beat home favourites China and clinch the women's recurve team gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 2 here on Sunday.
In a final marked by fluctuating fortunes, India edged past the home side 5-4 (28-26) in the shoot-off after the four-set regulation ended 4-4.
The victory was especially sweeter as India had earlier stunned record 10-time Olympic champions South Korea in the semifinals en route to their first World Cup women's team gold since 2021.
Deepika, who was also part of India's World Cup-winning teams in Guatemala City and Paris in 2021, now has seven World Cup team gold medals to her name since 2010.
It was also the Indian women recurve team's first World Cup medal in three years, its previous podium finish coming in Stage 4 in Paris in 2023 where Ankita was a member of the winning team.
India's campaign in Shanghai has thus already yielded two medals after compound archer Sahil Jadhav opened the country's account, securing a bronze on Saturday.
India also remained in contention for another podium finish later in the day with recurve archer Simranjeet Kaur set to compete in the semifinals. She is a win away from her maiden individual World Cup medal.
Travelling without a full-time national coach amid the continuing impasse over appointments, it was the vastly experienced Deepika who led from the front, constantly motivating her teammates during breaks and changeovers.
Prafull Dange, who was the designated women's recurve coach after his ward Kumkum topped the national trials, largely remained in the background as Deepika guided the side through the pressure moments against a hostile home crowd and vocal Chinese support staff.
Against a young Chinese side comprising Zhu Jingyi, Huang Yuwei and teenage archer Yu Qi, who all made their World Cup debuts only last year, India looked in control initially but nearly let the match slip after taking the opening set (54-53).
Shooting last in the Indian order, Deepika set the tone with successive 10s as India edged the first set despite Ankita (8-8) and 17-year-old Kumkum (10-8) putting up an inconsistent show.
Deepika continued her fine rhythm in the second set with another perfect 10 as India briefly held a one-point advantage (28-27) midway through the end. But China responded strongly with two 9s and a 10 in their final three arrows of the second set to post 55.
Ankita replied with a 9, but Kumkum managed only an 8, leaving Deepika needing a 10 to level the set.
The four-time Olympian, however, slipped to a 7 as India lost the set 52-55 and China drew level at 2-2.
The hosts then moved ahead in the third set. The teams were initially tied at 56, but a review upgraded China's final arrow from 8 to 9, handing them the set 57-56 and a 4-2 lead.
India appeared on the verge of defeat in the fourth set despite Deepika rediscovering her touch with two 10s. Kumkum's final arrow landed in the 7-ring as India posted a modest 54.
China required two 10s and a 9 from their last three arrows to seal the match.
Zhu and Huang delivered perfect 10s, leaving 18-year-old Yu Qi needing a 9 for victory in front of the home crowd.
But the youngster shot an 8, allowing India a dramatic escape and forcing a shoot-off.
The Indians peaked at the right moment in the decider. Ankita opened with a 9, Kumkum followed with a superb 10, and Deepika calmly delivered a 9 when only an 8 was needed to seal the title.
