After Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kumar Sanu, Salman Khan and more, R Madhavan also gets protection to his personality rights from the High Court

A growing number of celebrities are turning to the courts to safeguard their personality rights, and actor R Madhavan is the latest to receive legal protection. On Monday, the Delhi High Court ruled in his favour, restraining websites and digital platforms from using his name, photographs or any related material without prior permission. The order comes close on the heels of similar relief being granted to several other public figures.

R Madhavan gets protection to his personality rights from the High Court

According to PTI, the High Court directed multiple websites to remove obscene and objectionable content linked to Madhavan. Apart from this, the court also extended protection to his personality rights. During the hearing, the actor’s counsel pointed out that Madhavan had already approached social media platforms to report the infringing content before formally moving the court.



Further, as reported by ANI, advocate Swathi Sukumar who represented Madhavan, informed the court that one of the defendants had created fake trailers for 'Shaitaan 2' and 'Kesari 3', misleadingly suggesting that the films were on the verge of release. While the court noted that certain content could be concealed for now, it also stated that it was still deliberating on the broader legal questions surrounding AI-generated material.

Addressing the issue, the judge remarked, “I am not clear about the AI issue. I will think about it. I will not pass orders right now." The case has been listed for further hearing in May 2026.

Celebs who have their personality rights secured

The court has passed similar orders in favour of several celebrities, including Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, Karan Johar, Kumar Sanu, Nagarjuna, thus strengthening legal safeguards against the unauthorised commercial exploitation of their names, images and voices. Salman Khan also moved to court for the protection of his personality rights.

Abhishek Bachahan talks about personality rights

In an interview, Abhishek Bachchan opened up on his decision to move to court for the protection of these rights. He said during a chat with Peeping Moon, "Aishwarya and I moved to court about 3-4 years ago to protect our daughter. The internet can be a tricky place. Previously, people never responded because we were taught there is dignity in silence. But there are some things which are off limits as far as I'm concerned. Being personal with my family is off limits. If I have the ability, I will fight tooth and nail to protect them. There were some rather nasty, unnecessary things done on the internet vi sa vi my daughter. So, we moved to court, under the advice of the platforms. The Honourable court was extremely generous in seeing the validity in what we were requesting, she's a minor. We won that case and it protected her rights."

He further urged other celebrities also to do the same. "That then led to me thinking that the next person whose digital rights, appearance rights I'd like to protect would be my father's. We won that two years ago and it was a landmark judgment. After which, many celebrities have started doing that. It is to ensure that people can misuse your likeness, your being, or my voice. With AI coming in, the lines are getting blurred today. These are steps necessary in today's day and age and I would urge all public figures to consider it."

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