NEW DELHI: Filmmaker and television personality Karan Johar has moved the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights, following similar petitions filed by actors Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan.
Senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao, representing Johar, argued that his client’s name and images were being exploited online for commercial and misleading purposes.
“These are websites where my photos are downloaded. Various pages on various [social media] platforms are in my name,” he told the court, stressing that Johar’s persona was being misused to raise funds without his knowledge or consent.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, pushed back against the plea. Appearing for the company, Advocate Varun Pathak contended that most of the flagged material did not amount to defamation.
“These are ordinary people having comments and having discussions. Now to drag them to court for making an ordinary joke,” Pathak argued, cautioning against a blanket injunction that could set off “floodgates for litigation.”
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora appeared to agree, pointing out the distinction between parody and harmful misuse.
“Mr Rao, you have to look at two things. One is disparagement, which is different from memes. Memes are not necessarily disparaging. Then somebody is selling merchandise. Third is your domain name. Please specifically identify it; the court will consider it,” he said.
Rao, however, insisted that Johar retain the right to control his image. “There is a line between making fun... The platform becomes responsible. The more the memes, the more viral it is, the more money you make... I have a right to ensure that nobody uses my persona or my face or characteristics without my consent. The fact that I chose to look the other way does not give any carte blanche to others,” he submitted.
The court hinted it could order specific takedowns while allowing Johar to flag future violations with the platforms. “If they don’t, you come to court,” Justice Arora remarked before reserving orders on interim relief for September 17.
