Manoj Bajpayee moves Delhi High Court over alleged misuse of image, voice and AI-generated identity

Actor Manoj Bajpayee has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights, raising concerns over the alleged unauthorised use of his image, voice and aspects of his identity.

The 57-year-old actor filed the petition on Monday, with the matter coming up before Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav.

According to a report by Live Law, Senior Advocate Swathi Sukumar appeared for Bajpayee during the hearing.

The petition reportedly raises concerns over the use of the actor’s photographs for commercial purposes, along with the use of artificial intelligence to recreate his voice and elements associated with his personality.

One of the entities named in the proceedings is H2PG Designs Private Limited.

Bajpayee has alleged that the company used his photographs in a manner that suggested he was wearing suits manufactured by the brand.

Another defendant has allegedly used AI technology to reproduce the actor’s voice.

The actor has also sought protection against AI chatbots that may use identifiable aspects of his personality.

During Monday’s proceedings, the court also considered the issue of jurisdiction.

Justice Kaurav questioned why the matter had been brought before the Delhi High Court when Bajpayee is primarily based in Mumbai.

Sukumar submitted that certain defendants are located in Delhi, providing a basis for the court to exercise jurisdiction.

The judge also discussed how such personality rights matters could potentially be dealt with more efficiently, particularly in cases where defendants do not appear to contest the proceedings.

Justice Kaurav observed that there would be “no point of burdening ourselves” if matters of this nature could routinely be handled by the Registrar rather than requiring a detailed court hearing.

The court has asked Bajpayee’s counsel to compile interim and final orders from earlier personality rights cases.