Aaradhya Bachchan case: Delhi HC asks if Bachchan family name's reputation 'flows down generationally'

Delhi High Court addressed legal concerns regarding personality rights and the impact of misinformation in Aaradhya Bachchan's case.

In 2023, Aaradhya Bachchan, daughter of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, filed a case in the Delhi High Court alleging that "absolutely false" videos about her health and private life had been published on YouTube. A plea was filed seeking protection of her personality rights. On Thursday, the Delhi High Court raised several key legal questions that it will consider while hearing Aaradhya's case.

Abhishek Bachchan, Aaradhya Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

What Delhi High Court said in Aaradhya Bachchan's case

The case was initiated after multiple YouTube videos made baseless allegations about her health, including claims that she was seriously ill and had been hospitalised. During Thursday's hearing, Justice Anup J Bhambhani observed that the value and reputation of a trademark were attached to a product or service, but the case was "somewhat contextually different when you are talking about a person."

Justice Bhambhani asked, "If a family name is akin to having a reputation attached to a trademark, how far down the generations does such reputation of family name inure? A certain last name has a reputation because of the achievements, the eminence in a certain field of work, etc. So, does that reputation, that you are couching as virtually as a trademark … Does that flow down generationally? If so, up to what point?"

The court also questioned whether publishing fake or misleading news, even if it is of an “egregiously despicable nature”, could constitute a violation of intellectual property rights and, if so, which type of IP right may have been infringed. Advocate Pravin Anand, representing the plaintiffs, argued that any attempt to damage or exploit the family's goodwill must be stopped, noting that such goodwill could diminish over time. The lawyer also pointed out that pictures of the entire family were being used and that the Bachchan name was being associated with the alleged fake news.

The court had previously, on April 20, 2023, restrained several YouTube channels from sharing misleading content about Aaradhya Bachchan's health. The single-judge bench observed that spreading misinformation about a child reflected “morbid perversity” and said Google could not allow such content to be disseminated.

The court had further stressed that every child has the right to be treated with honour and respect, adding that spreading misleading information about a child's health was “completely intolerable in law”. The matter is now scheduled to be heard next in September.

About the case

Aaradhya, represented by her father Abhishek Bachchan, approached the Delhi High Court in 2023 against several YouTube channels and unidentified individuals over allegedly defamatory and misleading content about her and the Bachchan family. The case involved videos falsely claiming that she was seriously ill and hospitalised, with one even alleging her death, while others accused the family of delaying her medical treatment. The plea also sought protection of their private information.

With inputs from PTI