The Delhi High Court has directed online intermediaries to treat Sunil Gavaskar’s lawsuit as a formal complaint. The court said they must remove any content that may infringe on his personality rights.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said Gavaskar should first use the complaint systems that platforms already have. The court will only intervene if certain issues remain unresolved. The judge said: “Let them act on the complaint. I don’t understand why the parties are opposing it or why they are not using that mechanism.”
Intermediaries named as defendants 7, 10 and 11 have been asked to treat the complaint as a complaint and act within a week. They must also share basic subscriber information and IP information of users who posted the alleged fake content. The court said this will help “make better judgments instead of shooting in the dark.”
Gavaskar has 48 hours to send specific URLs of the messages that misuse his name, image or voice. Once they receive the URLs, platforms must send their decision within a week. The matter will be discussed again on December 22.
Why Gavaskar went to court
Gavaskar says several false quotes and comments about him are circulating online. Some of these mention players like Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. He wants an order banning anyone from using his name, face, likeness or voice without permission, especially for digital content.
He is the first Indian cricketer to file a personality rights case. Earlier, celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan and maker Raj Shamani were given similar legal protection.
A bigger fight against online abuse
Courts in India are now dealing with deepfakes, voice cloning and synthetic images that abuse public figures. They also try to stop counterfeit digital merchandise. At the same time, the court says that satire, art, news and commentary will remain protected so that free expression is not harmed.
Personality rights help public figures determine how their identity markers are used. These rights are even more important today due to online platforms and fast-growing AI tools. Gavaskar’s move increases pressure on platforms to respond faster to impersonation and fake content, while leaving room for real reporting and creative work.
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