singer Jubin Nautiyal approached the Delhi High Court on Thursday and filed a case to protect his personal rights. Recently, Delhi HC saw an influx of celebrities approaching it for the same reason. The court wondered why Gobin, who is based in Uttarakhand, did not approach the local high court instead of coming to Delhi.
Delhi HC raises a pertinent question during the Jubin Nautiyal case
the judge asked Gobin’s lawyer explains why he did not go to court in Uttarakhand, where he resides. They also noted that the courts there had not been abolished. The lawyer claimed that the Delhi Healthcare Center was contacted because the controlling authorities, such as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Technology (DoT), are present there. However, the court was not convinced by this reasoning and asked why Delhi has jurisdiction that Uttarakhand does not.
According to “What is the reason for you coming here? The court in Uttarakhand cannot contact them (accused) and pass directions? Are you saying that Google is not available in Uttarakhand? You have to tell us that, right? Why does Uttarakhand not have jurisdiction when you are there? Is the law such that since the Ministry is here, whatever will be against them, all jurisdiction, whether from Madras, Calcutta or Bombay will come to Here?”
The court was informed that several other celebrities, including Vivek Oberoi, had also approached her seeking protection of their personal rights. However, the court described those orders as temporary orders and said they did not set a precedent.
Why did Jobin approach Delhi HC?
Gobin claimed in the Delhi HC that several entities were exploiting his name, voice, image, likeness and other elements of his personality without permission, license or authorization. The singer claimed that this constituted an infringement of his personality and publicity rights, as well as a violation of registered trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights. No order has yet been issued in this case.
Since last year, many celebrities have approached the Delhi HC to protect their personal rights, instead of approaching the courts in their respective states. Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Jackie Shroff, Junior NTR, Kumar Sanu, Nagarjuna, Daler Mehndi and Karan Johar have approached the court over AI-generated and deepfake content that distorts their image and likeness. However, the committee said on Thursday that these cases do not set a precedent for future cases involving celebrities.
