Sunil Gavaskar’s personality and publicity rights protected:Cricket legend becomes first Indian sportsperson to do so, know what it is and why are celebrities seeking protection

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has become the first Indian sports personality whose publicity and personality rights have been protected by the court. The Delhi High Court, on 23 December, asked social media platforms to remove posts and pictures misusing the name and image of the cricketer-turned-commentator, within 72 hours. Last week, Gavaskar’s lawyer appealed to the Delhi High Court for the protection of his personality rights. The next hearing in this case is set to be held on 22 May 2026. Also read: Shubman Gill leading run-scorer in 2025; Virat Kohli dominates ODIs: Abhishek Sharma finishes the year with a blistering 193 strike rate What happened and what are personality rights? Gavaskar had approached the High Court to prevent the unauthorised use of his name, photographs, personality, and identity by social media platforms and e-commerce websites, and to protect his personality rights. The jurisdiction was passed by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora. Personality rights are the rights of an individual to protect, control, and profit from the use of their image, name, or identity. Also read: On this day, MS Dhoni made his international debut:Former India captain got run out for golden duck, dismissed in same way in last Int’l Why are celebrities seeking protection of personality rights? An increasing number of celebrities are seeking protection of their personality rights to combat the misuse of their names, images and even voices to ensure that their identities are not misused through deepfake, morphing and AI. Celebrities like Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Karan Johar, singer Kumar Sanu, Telugu actor A Nagarjuna and Jackie Shroff, among others, also approached the court seeking protection of their personality rights. Shroff had alleged that his image and videos were being altered and merchandise was being sold without permission. The court had ordered protection of his personality and publicity rights. In 2023, Anil Kapoor received legal protection against the misuse of his image, voice and ‘Jhakaas’ catchphrase. In November 2022, Amitabh Bachchan’s personality and publicity rights were also protected by the court. Shroff had alleged that his image and videos were being altered and merchandise was being sold without permission. The court had ordered protection of his personality and publicity rights. In 2023, Anil Kapoor received legal protection against the misuse of his image, voice and ‘Jhakaas’ catchphrase. In November 2022, Amitabh Bachchan’s personality and publicity rights were also protected by the court. The Delhi High Court has issued an order on Gavaskar’s petition regarding the protection of their personality rights. The court has asked the social media platforms to take action within seven days. Justice Arora spoke with Gavaskar’s lawyer, stating that the social media platforms should be contacted first.