The Delhi High Court has granted interim protection to playback singer Kumar Sanu regarding his personality rights, preventing the unauthorized commercial use of his name, likeness, image, and voice. The court's decision, presided over by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, recognizes that a singer's personality traits are protectable elements of their identity. The interim injunction will remain in effect until the next hearing, scheduled for March 30, 2026.
Kumar Sanu expressed his gratitude to the Delhi High Court for upholding his personality rights, calling it a "significant victory". He had filed a suit seeking protection against the unauthorized use of his name, voice, vocal style, and other attributes. The suit also addressed concerns about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to clone his voice and likeness for unauthorized content.
The court has ordered the removal of objectionable content misusing his name, voice, and performances on social media platforms. This includes the takedown of infringing content identified in Sanu's petition, as well as any new material flagged by the singer. Platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Google, and Meta have been directed to remove listings and content that violate Kumar Sanu's personality rights. Google and Meta have also been ordered to provide Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) of anonymous accounts responsible for sharing infringing content within three weeks.
Sanu's legal action was prompted by the misuse of his persona for various commercial activities, including the sale of merchandise and the creation of fake social media profiles. He also raised concerns about AI-generated sound recordings imitating his voice and GIFs caricaturing him, which he said caused reputational damage and subjected him to "unsavoury humour" online. He argued that these acts infringe upon his right to privacy, goodwill, and reputation, violating the Copyright Act of 1957. Sanu emphasized that his stage names, including "Kumar Sanu," "Sanu Da," and "The Melody King of Bollywood," are protected under personality/publicity rights and trademark law.
The Delhi High Court's decision highlights the growing importance of protecting celebrity rights in the digital age. Several other celebrities, including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar, and Nagarjuna Akkineni, have recently sought similar protection from the court. The court has previously safeguarded the personality and publicity rights of veteran actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff.
The ruling in Kumar Sanu's case is particularly significant because it addresses the misuse of AI-generated content. The court's protection extends beyond traditional forms of misuse to explicitly cover AI-generated content that clones Sanu's voice or likeness without consent. This reflects growing concerns about voice cloning technology, which has advanced to the point where AI systems can create convincing voice duplicates with minimal audio input.
The court stated in its order that Sanu is entitled to protect himself against morphed and distorted content. The case underscores the importance of an artist's voice, image, and identity as their personal property, not open for digital exploitation.
