Baba Ramdev Approaches Delhi High Court Over Deepfakes, Seeks Protection of Personality Rights

Yoga guru and Patanjali Ayurved co-founder Baba Ramdev has moved the Delhi High Court on Tuesday (February 17) seeking protection of his personality rights.

The matter was listed before Justice Jyoti Singh and was briefly heard. It has now been kept for further hearing on Wednesday.

Ramdev seeks an injunction against the unauthorised use of his name, likeness, voice and distinctive style of discourse on digital platforms. The plea targets “John Doe” defendants allegedly using artificial intelligence-generated content, deepfake videos and voice cloning to exploit his identity without consent.

Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Ramdev, submitted that the petition seeks protection of attributes exclusively identifiable with him, including the title “Yoga Guru” and his unique manner of public address.

The suit names Google, Meta, X and Amazon among the respondents. The Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have also been impleaded.

Counsel for X submitted that takedown directions must not affect satire, political commentary or lawful public speech.

The Court directed parties to file a detailed note specifying the content objected to and the matter will be heard again tomorrow.

As 2026 has progressed, the courts saw an increasing number of cases for public figures seeking to safeguard their identities against digital exploitation, particularly regarding AI-generated content and deepfakes.

On January 23, 2026, the Delhi High Court ordered the immediate removal of an AI-generated film and associated deepfake content featuring Akira Nandan (son of Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan), ruling that the unauthorized use of his likeness and voice violated his personality and privacy rights. Earlier that month, on January 13, 2026, the court granted similar relief to the creators of the "Slayy Point" YouTube channel, ordering a takedown of morphed, pornographic, and AI-generated deepfake material. On the same day, the court directed the removal of unauthorized images of actor and YouTuber Bhuvan Bam, although it deferred a specific finding on his personality rights at that stage.

Sunil Gavaskar recently secured an ad-interim injunction against the illegal sale of merchandise and social media posts that attributed false quotes to the former cricketer. Similarly, actor Vivek Oberoi was granted a protective order against the unauthorized use of his name, image, and voice—specifically targeting AI-generated misuse.

To combat widespread digital infringement by unknown parties, the Delhi High Court has issued 'John Doe' interim orders to protect the personality rights of high-profile individuals, including NTR Junior, where the court protected his name, likeness, and image, noting his status as a "well-known face" with immense goodwill.

The court recently ordered the removal of unauthorized, AI-generated photos and videos of Shilpa Shetty from various platforms, emphasizing that no individual should be portrayed in a manner that affects their right to privacy and dignity. Additionally, veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha has approached the Bombay High Court to secure protection for his image and his iconic signature catchphrase, "Khamosh!"