Delhi High Court directs Amitabh Bachchan to appear in person to continue personality rights suit

The Delhi High Court has directed actor Amitabh Bachchan to appear personally in court if he wants to continue or settle his personality rights case

The Delhi High Court has directed veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan to appear personally before it if he wishes to pursue his suit seeking protection of his personality rights and fails to reach a settlement with various entities.

High Court asks Amitabh Bachchan to appear in person

Amitabh Bachchan was granted interim relief in his personality rights case in 2022.

A bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued the direction on Friday after the parties informed the court that although the court in November 2022 had protected Bacchan’s personality rights by granting an ex parte injunction, the parties explored the possibility of an amicable settlement through mediation during the proceedings.

The parties added that an amicable settlement had been reached with some of the defendants, but the settlement agreement could not be formally signed due to logistical issues on Bachchan’s part. Amitabh Bachchan’s counsel, Dhruv Anand, thus sought additional time to complete the necessary formalities and place the agreement on record.

Granting time until November 16, the court clarified that if the settlement remained incomplete or failed to materialise, the actor must appear personally at the next hearing if he wished to pursue any of the claims or issues raised in the suit.

Amitabh Bachchan's case

In 2022, Amitabh Bachchan had filed a suit seeking protection of his personality rights. The suit stated that Bachchan’s name, image and voice were being used by mobile application developers to conduct lotteries by illegally associating with Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). He has also sought a restraining order against book publishers, T-shirt vendors and various other businesses.

In November that year, Justice Navin Chawla passed an interim order restraining persons at large from infringing Bachchan's personality and publicity rights. Justice Chawla noted that the defendants were using the veteran actor's celebrity status to promote their own businesses without his permission.

"The plaintiff is likely to suffer irreparable loss and harm. Some of the activities may even bring his disrepute. In view of the above, an ex parte ad interim order is passed, " Justice Chawla had stated.