Actress Preity Zinta has secured Bombay High Court permission to sue Meta, Google, and other online platforms over alleged AI-generated content violating her personality rights, copyright, and reputation. The court granted leave to file an injunction suit, highlighting growing concerns over artificial intelligence misuse and celebrity rights protection in India.
Actress Preity Zinta has received permission from the Bombay High Court to initiate legal proceedings against several online platforms, including Meta and Google, over the alleged creation and dissemination of AI-generated content using her identity.
The actress approached the court claiming that various online platforms and entities had generated, uploaded, published, and circulated content created through artificial intelligence that used her likeness and persona without authorization. According to her plea, such content infringed upon her personality rights and copyright protections while also causing substantial harm to her reputation and public image.
Preity Zinta further argued that the unauthorized use of her identity violated her moral rights under the Copyright Act, 1957. She maintained that the AI-generated material had the potential to mislead audiences, spread misinformation, and negatively affect her professional standing.
A single-judge bench headed by Justice Abhay Ahuja heard the matter and granted leave under the relevant legal provisions, allowing the actress to file an injunction suit against the concerned parties. The court’s decision marks another important step in the evolving legal landscape surrounding artificial intelligence and the protection of individual rights in the digital era.
During the proceedings, the Bombay High Court observed that the alleged objectionable activities were carried out through online platforms, while several respondents maintained offices outside Mumbai. As a result, portions of the dispute extended beyond the ordinary territorial jurisdiction of the court. Nevertheless, the court granted the necessary leave, enabling it to hear, examine, and adjudicate the matter.
The case adds to a growing number of legal disputes involving the misuse of celebrity identities through AI technologies. In recent years, advances in artificial intelligence have made it easier to create highly realistic images, videos, and audio recordings that imitate public figures. Experts have increasingly raised concerns about the potential misuse of such technology for disinformation, fraud, and reputational harm.
Several prominent Indian film personalities have previously sought judicial protection against unauthorized commercial exploitation of their identities. Actors Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan, R. Madhavan, Hrithik Roshan, and Vivek Oberoi have successfully obtained court orders or injunctions safeguarding their personality and publicity rights.
Among these, the landmark legal victories secured by Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Jackie Shroff are widely regarded as milestones that strengthened judicial recognition of celebrity personality rights in India. Their cases have contributed significantly to the development of legal protections against unauthorized use of a public figure’s name, image, voice, and likeness.
Meanwhile, on the professional front, Preity Zinta is preparing for the release of her upcoming film Batwara 1947. The makers recently unveiled character posters featuring Shabana Azmi, Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal, and Abhimanyu Singh. Directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi, the period drama reunites Santoshi and Sunny Deol nearly three decades after their acclaimed collaborations on Ghayal, Damini, and Ghatak.
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Produced by Aamir Khan and Aparna Purohit under Aamir Khan Productions, the film features music composed by A.R. Rahman and lyrics written by Javed Akhtar. Batwara 1947 is expected to release on August 14, 2026, coinciding with Partition Day. As the actress prepares for her cinematic return, her legal battle against the alleged misuse of AI-generated content is likely to become a closely watched case in India’s rapidly evolving digital rights framework.
