Delhi High Court tells social media platforms to act on Sunil Gavaskar’s personality rights plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday, December 12, 2025, directed social media intermediaries to take action within seven days on former cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar’s request for protection of his personality and publicity rights.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora asked Mr. Gavaskar’s lawyer to first convey his complaints to social media intermediaries.

The court directed the social media intermediaries to treat Mr. Gavaskar’s case as a complaint under the Information and Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Ethics) Rules, 2021 and take necessary steps within seven days.

He directed Mr. Gavaskar to provide the URLs he wanted removed within 24 hours.

Mr. Gavaskar applied to the Court to prevent unauthorized use of his name, images, personality and the like by social media platforms and e-commerce sites and to protect his personal rights.

In recent months, the Delhi High Court has witnessed a rise in the number of public figures seeking similar protection. Actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek and Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Ajay Devgn; filmmaker Karan Johar; singer Kumar Sanu; Telugu star Akkineni Nagarjuna; Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of ‘Art of Living’; journalist Sudhir Chaudhary; and podcaster Raj Shamani received interim relief from the Court.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan and Telugu actor NTR Rao Junior also approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of their personal rights.