Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday reserved its order on a plea filed by Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty seeking protection of his personality rights and an injunction against unauthorised use of his name, image, and likeness on social media and various websites.

A single-judge bench of Justice Arif S Doctor briefly heard arguments from senior advocate Birendra Saraf, representing the 64-year-old actor, and remarked that “it is scary what people can do with the unregulated use of AI on social media.” The court is expected to pass an ex parte ad-interim order in due course.

Shetty, who has acted in over 100 films, has filed a commercial intellectual property rights infringement suit against several social media platforms, websites, and unknown persons (John Doe defendants) for what he described as “extensive and ongoing infringement and unauthorised commercial exploitation” of his persona.

The plea highlights that his photographs and deepfake images, including those with his grandchild, were being used for commercial gain by real estate agencies, gambling and astrology websites, and merchandise sellers — all without his consent or authorisation.

Some of these instances involve AI-generated content, including deepfake videos and counterfeit merchandise like T-shirts and posters featuring his image.

Saraf submitted that such unauthorised usage and impersonation dilute the actor’s reputation, goodwill, and contractual commitments with third parties. “The infringement acts are causing irreparable harm to the plaintiff’s immense goodwill built carefully over the years,” the plea stated.

It further argued that the business models of such websites were designed to unlawfully monetise Shetty’s persona and “debase the goodwill and reputation that the plaintiff has cultivated over many years.”

The actor has sought a permanent injunction restraining all defendants from misusing his personality rights — including his name, image, likeness, voice, or any other attributes — in any form, especially through AI-generated or deepfake content.

He has also sought directions to take down infringing content and prohibit the manufacture or sale of counterfeit merchandise using his likeness.

Justice Doctor had earlier, while granting interim relief to singer Asha Bhosle in a similar plea, observed that using AI tools to imitate a celebrity’s voice without consent violates their personal rights.

Lahore: The Asia Cup trophy, which was not presented to the victorious Indian team after its refusal to accept it from Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi, has been locked away at the ACC’s Dubai headquarters with “instructions that it should not be moved or handed over” without the Chairman’s approval.

The trophy has been at the ACC office after Naqvi walked away with it from the presentation ceremony following the Indian team’s refusal to accept it from him. India beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on September 28.

Naqvi is also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman and the Interior Minister of his country and India-Pakistan tensions have hit a peak after the Pahalgam terror attack.

“As of today the trophy is still in ACC offices in Dubai with clear intructions from Naqvi that it should not be moved or handed over to anyone without his approval and in person presence,” a source close to Naqvi told PTI.

“Naqvi has given clear instructions that only he will hand over the trophy in person (whenever that happens) to the Indian team or BCCI,” he added.

The entire Asia Cup was overshadowed by Indo-Pak hostilities. The Indians refused to shake hands with the arch foes throughout the tournament and players from both sides mocked each other with politically charged gestures.

Naqvi too made political statements on his social media pages.

The BCCI took strong exception to his act of walking away with the trophy and vowed to raise the matter in an ICC meeting next month. It is being widely speculated that a strong move to get Naqvi censured and even removed as Director in the ICC could be made.

“It remains to be seen what will be the long term ramifications for the PCB or Naqvi because the BCCI is clear he (Naqvi) didn’t have any right to insist on handing the trophy himself to the Indian team and refusing to send it to the BCCI who were official hosts of the event,” the source said.

Mumbai: “The Prime Minister Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana marks a decisive step towards increasing farmers’ income and making them self-reliant,” said Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane. “After consistent efforts for farmers’ justice, this is a significant achievement. The Central Government has included nine districts from Maharashtra in the scheme, which will be inaugurated tomorrow in Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I urge farmers across the state to actively participate in this initiative,” Bharane added.

A state-level event for Maharashtra will be held tomorrow under the chairmanship of Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane at the Pune District Central Cooperative Bank Auditorium.

The Prime Minister Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) has been launched by the Central Government to improve the condition of farmers in regions with low productivity, limited irrigation facilities, and inadequate access to agricultural credit. A total of 100 districts across India have been selected under the scheme, including nine from Maharashtra—Palghar, Raigad, Dhule, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Beed, Nanded, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli.

The scheme aims to promote agricultural improvement, crop diversification, productivity enhancement, and sustainable farming. It will be implemented over the next six years, with an annual budgetary provision of ₹24,000 crore. In the selected districts of Maharashtra, the focus will be on grain storage, processing, irrigation improvement, and local employment generation.

Minister Bharane welcomed the decision, saying, “This scheme will directly benefit farmers across the state. It will strengthen sustainable agriculture, water conservation, and the adoption of modern technologies—boosting farmers’ confidence. This initiative truly means ‘strength to farming, relief to farmers’.”

More than 300 progressive and innovative farmers are expected to attend tomorrow’s event. Under this program, 36 different schemes from 11 departments of the Central and State Governments will be implemented in convergence. The activities will be executed at multiple levels—Gram Panchayats, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Agricultural Market Committees, Kisan Samriddhi Kendras, and Cooperative Credit Societies (PACS).

Currently, over 36 central and state agricultural schemes are being converged to boost crop productivity, ensure sustainability, and strengthen post-harvest technology and credit systems. The nationwide launch of the PM Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana, Natural Farming, and Pulses Campaign will be conducted through live broadcasts at district headquarters, KVKs, taluka offices, Gram Panchayats, and agricultural institutions.

Representatives from local bodies, agriculture departments, universities, scientists, award-winning farmers, natural farming practitioners, and farmer producer companies will participate in these events.

Minister Bharane also extended his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for including nine districts from Maharashtra under this ambitious and farmer-friendly initiative.