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.

Mumbai: The police have registered a case against the driver of actor Farhan Akhtar’s mother, Honey Irani, and an employee of a petrol pump near Bandra Lake. The accused driver, Naresh Singh, 35, used Akhtar’s cards to fill fuel in Irani’s cars. However, he merely swiped the cards at the petrol pump and an employee there, Arun Singh, 52, gave him cash after keeping his share for the deal.

On October 1, Irani’s manager filed a complaint with the Bandra police against Singh and the petrol pump employee for allegedly cheating them of Rs 12 lakh. According to the FIR, Irani’s manager, Diya Bhatia, 36, while checking the fuel accounts, discovered that a Maruti car with a diesel capacity of 35t was recorded as having received 621t.

When Bhatia questioned Singh, he gave unsatisfactory answers, claiming he only had one card to fill petrol and diesel. The manager examined the cards’ history. She discovered that Singh had used three cards, all registered under Akhtar’s name. She further found that Singh had purchased vehicle oil for a car that had been sold seven years ago. She arranged a meeting with Trani, during which Singh confessed to cheating them.

Singh revealed that in 2022, he obtained three cards from Akhtar’s former driver, Santosh Kumar. After obtaining the cards, he always filled petrol and diesel at the SV Road petrol pump near Bandra Lake, where he conspired with the petrol pump employee. Singh frequently swiped the cards without filling petrol or diesel and was given cash after a deduction of Rs 1,000- 1500.

A case has been registered under Sections 318 (criminal breach of trust), 418 (cheating), and 3(5) (general provisions) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Mumbai: Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, known for keeping his personal life private, revealed a disturbing incident involving his 13-year-old daughter. Speaking at a cyber awareness program, the actor recounted how an unknown individual tried to target his daughter while she was playing an online video game.

Kumar explained, “A few months ago, my daughter was playing an online game. Some games allow interaction with strangers. While she was playing, she received messages like ‘Thank you,’ ‘That was great,’ ‘You’re doing so well,’ ‘Fantastic’ – very courteous messages that seemed harmless.”

However, the tone soon changed. “Suddenly, the person asked where she was from. She replied, ‘Mumbai.’ The conversation continued politely at first, but then the stranger asked, ‘Are you male or female?’ She answered, ‘Female.’ Shockingly, the stranger then requested her to send nude pictures,” Akshay said.

Nitara immediately closed the game and informed her mother, Twinkle Khanna, about the incident. Akshay praised his daughter’s quick thinking and her decision to share the matter with her parents.

“This is exactly how such incidents start. Children are often trapped online, later extorted for money, and in many cases, these crimes have even led to suicides,” Kumar warned.

The actor urged parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities and stressed the importance of awareness about the dangers on gaming and social platforms.

“Parents must educate their children, supervise online interactions, and teach them how to respond to strangers in digital spaces,” he added.