Prominent filmmaker and television personality Karan Johar has approached the Delhi High Court, invoking protection of his personality rights in a suit titled Karan Johar v. Ashok Kumar/John Doe & Ors. The motion comes in the wake of various instances where his name and image are being allegedly misused—ranging from social media pages bearing his photograph without consent to websites purportedly raising funds in his name.
In court today, Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao contended that certain websites have downloaded Johar’s photographs, while multiple fan pages and social media handles have appropriated his persona. Johar asserts his fundamental right to control the use of his identity including face, attributes, and name and maintains that mere passivity on his part should not constitute consent for others to replicate or profit from his image.
Opposing the plea, Meta Platforms (owners of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) argued that many of the comments and posts cited in Johar’s complaint are non-defamatory, casual remarks or memes, and that a sweeping injunction could potentially overwhelm the judicial apparatus with claims. Advocate Varun Pathak highlighted that social discourse including jokes or memes—shouldn’t be equated with disparagement, and cautioned against blanket orders that would target numerous fan pages indiscriminately.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora presided over the hearing and acknowledged the complexity of balancing free expression with individual rights. The Court observed that not every fan page or meme could be ordered to be taken down, but indicated that specific pages or domains identified by Johar might be subject to removal. The Court also emphasized that future offending pages, once brought to notice, may be required to comply. The matter is set for further hearing later today at 4 PM.
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