Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff. One might think this is the star cast of a blockbuster film, but in recent months, all these celebrities have appeared before the Delhi High Court to protect their personality rights.

And it’s not just actors. A film director (Karan Johar), two spiritual gurus (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Jaggi Vasudev) and a journalist (Rajat Sharma) have also approached the Court to safeguard their personality rights. In response, various benches have passed a series of significant orders, including directions to block deepfakes, AI-generated content and pornographic material misusing these celebrities’ identities.

What’s striking is that most of these public figures are not based in the national capital. Yet, they continue to choose the Delhi High Court to assert their rights

So why are these cases ending up in Delhi and what makes the Delhi High Court the preferred forum to assert personality rights?

For decades, the Delhi High Court has been the hub for Intellectual Property (IP) lawsuits. 

Pravin Anand, Managing Partner at Anand & Anand, says that soon after its founding, the Delhi High Court developed a reputation for being good at protecting IP rights. Therefore, irrespective of which part of the country a person or a firm developed their IP, they wanted it protected by the High Court. 

“You want it protected by what you consider to be the most efficient system, and the Delhi High Court has acquired that reputation,” he said. 

Anand explains that Delhi has developed an entire ecosystem of practitioners, law firms, books and seminars focused on IP. The fact that Delhi is the seat of the Central government helps enforce the court orders, he said. 

“So, the whole infrastructure which was required to give special recognition to IP developed here. It's a proper ecosystem which could not develop so well in other parts of the country. And I think that's the reason why almost 70% of all IP cases are from Delhi."

In India, like most of the world, there is no statutory recognition of personality rights. The law around it has developed through judicial pronouncements. And the Delhi High Court had an early start in recognising and protecting these rights.

Shwetasree Majumder, Managing Partner of Fidus Law Chambers, writing in Bar & Bench last month, stated that the 2010 decision of the Delhi High Court in DM Entertainment Pvt Ltd v. Baby Gift House & Ors is the first authoritative Indian decision on personality rights. 

In this case, Justice Ravindra Bhat held that singer Daler Mehndi’s persona constituted a quasi-property right of commercial value.

Ameet Naik, Founder and Managing Partner at Naik Naik & Company, credits the 2012 decision in Titan Industries Ltd. vs M/S Ramkumar Jewellers for laying the foundation for enforceable personality rights. Here, Justice Manmohan paved the way for a celebrity to control the commercial use of their identity.

“That was an order emanating from the Delhi High Court, and that became the basis for other cases. Whether it’s Mr [Amitabh] Bachchan, Mr [Anil] Kapoor, or Mr Jackie Shroff, etc. It is because there was a jurisprudence developed there at the Delhi High Court and typically you go to the High Court which has passed the most recent order,” Naik said. 

Anand has a theory on the development of IP protection law in Delhi. He argues that over time, most of the counterfeiting and piracy began and flourished in North India, and that is why the measures to counter them also developed in the North. 

“I have a feeling that the invasions into India came from the North and, so, the warrior people in the North were bold enough to start piracy and take risks of indulging in counterfeiting. So, counterfeiting and piracy flourished here more than in other parts of India. So, the tools to combat counterfeiting have also developed more in the North. And that's how Delhi High Court became a centre for IP lawsuits,” he says. 

Naik says that in all the cases he has filed, the infringement was clearly in Delhi.

 “And that’s why we come to Delhi,” he adds. 

The Delhi High Court was the first in the country to establish an IP Division in July 2021 to handle IP rights matters. Since then, several other High Courts have also established dedicated divisions to deal with IP matters. 

Naik believes that the Delhi High Court’s decision to set up an IP Division has helped bring many cases to the capital and has led to the development of the law around intellectual property. 

“The IP Division is a big feather in the cap as far as the Delhi High Court is concerned. It is a great development which has helped develop jurisprudence around IP rights, not just personality rights,” he said.