Janhvi Kapoor’s Obscene Content To Be Removed; Delhi HC Denies Ban On Fan Pages

The courtroom in Delhi became the latest battleground over what personality rights actually mean in the age of AI. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani ordered the takedown of pornographic content targeting actor Janhvi Kapoor on Tuesday, while making it clear the court has no intention of shutting down the fan pages that make up much of her online presence. Kapoor moved court seeking removal of an enormous chunk of the internet tied to her name. Her petition targeted over 5,000 webpages and social media posts, including pornographic AI-generated content, impersonating accounts, fake booking agencies and chatbots she says are commercially exploiting her likeness without any consent. Scroll down to read the full story.

Janhvi Kapoor Gets Relief From AI-Generated Content But NO Ban On Fan Pages

That’s a massive ask, and the court noticed. Justice Bhambhani said the submissions in the plaint and the relief being sought were overbroad. He directed Kapoor’ counsel to come back with a tabulated chart listing specifically the webpages that carry content he described as “ex facie pornographic, obscene, prurient and lascivious,” particularly where that content is being used to directly monetize her personality traits to sell merchandise or services. On that narrower category, the court signaled it was ready to act. “I am inclined to give you relief in these categories,” the judge said.

Fan Pages Stay Untouched

Where the court drew a hard line was on fan culture itself. Justice Bhambhani flatly rejected the idea of a blanket ban on fan pages, framing it as a “free speech issue rather than a personality rights one.” He didn’t mince words about where he stood. “We are not the conscience keepers of the nation,” he said, adding that “the proposed solution might end up worse than the problem it was meant to fix.”

He pointed out that fan pages “cut both ways,” some lampooning a celebrity’s work, others being purely adulatory, and some critical. His blunt question to Kapoor’s side was: “Did she really want no fans at all? It is the digital world,” he warned, “that shutting everything down would leave a public figure living in a cave.”

No Dynamic Injunction Either

Kapoor’s team had also pushed for a “dynamic injunction,” a legal tool that would let new infringing links get blocked automatically without repeated trips back to court. The judge wasn’t having it. He questioned whether “public figures could realistically expect that level of control over how the internet talks about them.” “They should just be genuflecting in front of you? Stand and touch my feet?” he asked, noting that “virtually everyone with any public profile today faces some degree of online abuse.” In his view, “shutting down every fan club that exists simply wasn’t a workable remedy.”

Where Copyright And Personality Rights Collide

A trickier legal question surfaced when the court turned to how copyright law interacts with personality rights. Justice Bhambhani floated a hypothetical to make his point: “If someone photographs a celebrity and legally owns that photograph, does that person not have the right to sell it?”

He extended the analogy further, asking whether “a potter who paints someone’s likeness onto a mug, or an author who writes a book referencing a public figure,” should lose the right to sell their work.

His conclusion leaned toward existing copyright principles. “The right to sell a copyrighted work,” he suggested, “generally belongs to whoever owns the copyright, meaning the photographer or creator, not necessarily the person depicted.”

Janhvi Requests For Internet Cleanup

Meta, represented by advocate Varun Pathak, opposed the petition outright. Pathak argued it simply isn’t “humanly possible to manually check all 5,000 flagged links,” and noted that “AI generated images aren’t themselves prohibited by law.” He also contended that “the people behind these pages have a right to their own livelihood,” and that Kapoor was “effectively asking for a full cleanup of the internet through a dynamic injunction.”

The court wasn’t fully sympathetic to that framing either. Justice Bhambhani cautioned Meta against “stepping outside its role as a neutral intermediary.” “I urge you to not overstep your role,” he said, “adding that doing so would suggest a deeper interest than a platform is supposed to have in these disputes.”

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Akankshya Mukherjee

Akankshya Mukherjee is a dynamic and ambitious individual poised to make waves in the realm of Media and Communication. With a passion for creativity and a drive to contribute to forward-thinking organizations, Akankshya embodies adaptability and a hunger for learning. Having already garnered experience through involvement in various organizations, she has honed the skill of quickly adapting to new environments and challenges. She sees each opportunity as a chance for personal and professional growth, eagerly embracing roles in communications and content writing.