The Delhi High Court on Tuesday declined to pass a comprehensive ex parte interim injunction in actor Janhvi Kapoor’s personality rights suit, observing that a blanket takedown order covering 6,884 URLs could not be granted without examining the nature of the alleged infringements. A detailed interim order is awaited.
The Bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani observed that the reliefs sought by Kapoor appeared overbroad, as the URLs covered a wide range of content, including pornographic material, AI-generated images, fan pages, impersonation accounts, merchandise listings and allegedly misleading digital content.
The Court directed the actor to file a tabulated list categorising the URLs before it considers granting broader ex parte relief.
The plaintiff has been asked to separately identify URLs containing: (i) ex facie pornographic, obscene, prurient or lascivious content; (ii) content directly monetising her personality rights; and (iii) content using her name or likeness to promote merchandise or services.
Justice Bhambhani indicated that these categories could warrant immediate consideration, while claims involving fan pages and allegedly misleading content would require closer scrutiny.
During the hearing, counsel for Kapoor submitted that several social media accounts, AI-generated images and fan pages were commercially exploiting the actor’s identity and diverting engagement from her verified accounts.
The Court, however, questioned whether personality rights could be invoked to restrain all fan pages or discussions concerning a public figure, noting that public personalities inevitably attract admiration, criticism and commentary.
The Court also observed that expressions such as “misleading content” were inherently subjective and could not be restrained without proper examination of the material concerned.
Justice Bhambhani further stressed the need for judicial scrutiny as personality rights litigation continues to expand. He remarked that courts must bring “some sanity” to the jurisprudence rather than issue sweeping takedown orders covering thousands of URLs.
The Court indicated that prima facie pornographic and obscene content identified by the plaintiff could be considered separately, while the remaining categories would require further adjudication.
The Court also directed Kapoor to amend the memo of parties to implead the correct GoDaddy entity.
The matter has been listed for further consideration on August 17, 2026.
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