Bombay High Court restrains lawyer Sonu Nigam Singh from impersonating singer Sonu Nigam on X

The Bombay High Court on Friday passed an ex-parte order restraining an X (formerly Twitter) account from misrepresenting itself as renowned playback singer Sonu Nigam.[Sonu Nigam v Sonu Nigam Singh]

The account in question, operated by a person named Sonu Nigam Singh, was directed to display his full and original name on his X handle.

Justice RI Chagla granted ad interim relief while hearing a petition filed by Sonu Nigam who alleged violation of his personality rights.

The singer approached the court after Sonu Nigam Singh, who claims to be criminal lawyer from Bihar, made several communal and politically charged posts on his X handle using the name “Sonu Nigam.”

According to the petition, Singh’s online activity gave the impression that these posts were made by the singer, resulting in backlash and hate directed toward both him and his family.

Appearing for the singer, advocate Hiren Kamod submitted that Singh misrepresented himself as the singer and posted controversial content without clarifying that he was not the artist.

Kamod highlighted fourteen specific instances where Singh had either made communal remarks or responded to posts in a way that reinforced the false identity.

One such post targeted BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, stating,

“Don't dub Kannada movies in Hindi! Don’t release Kannada movies pan-India! Do you have the guts to say this to Kannada film stars, Mr. @TejasviSurya, or are you just another language warrior?”

Kamod also pointed out that Singh accepted praise and compliments clearly intended for the singer, again without any clarification. He further cited instances where Singh posted derogatory remarks about the Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team after their Indian Premier League championship win.

While there may not be any evidence of commercial gain, Kamod argued that Singh had benefited socially and reputationally by exploiting the singer’s name, amassing over 90,000 followers on X.

These followers include prominent public figures such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former minister Smriti Irani. Kamod emphasised that the misrepresentation has led to sustained online hate directed at the singer and his family.

“Because of Sonu Nigam Singh replying to the posts… Look at the hate Sonu Nigam is getting. Absolute chaos, My Lord. This is what the plaintiff is facing every day since August 2024,” he submitted.

Notably, Nigam had quit Twitter in 2017, weeks after the suspension of his colleague and fellow singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya’s account, citing the one-sidedness of the platform.

Although Sonu Nigam has not registered his name as a trademark, Kamod argued that under established legal precedents, a name can acquire trademark status through public recognition even without commercial use.

He contended that Singh, despite sharing the name, cannot use 'Sonu Nigam' in a manner that misleads the public.

After considering the submissions, the Court restrained Singh from continuing to misrepresent himself as the singer and directed him to use his full name, Sonu Nigam Singh, as the display name on his X account.