Shilpa Shetty Kundra. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Actor and wellness entrepreneur Shilpa Shetty Kundra has approached the Bombay High Court alleging rampant misuse of her identity through artificial intelligence tools, e-commerce platforms and social media. In a suit filed under the Commercial Courts Act, Ms. Shetty has named 28 defendants, including websites, AI platforms and global tech giants, accusing them of exploiting her name, image, voice and likeness without consent for commercial gain.
The petition, filed through advocate Sana Raees Khan, seeks urgent ex-parte injunctions, takedown of infringing content, disclosure of seller details and damages of ₹5 lakh. Ms. Shetty has also requested the appointment of a court receiver to seize infringing merchandise and electronic data, and directions to government agencies to enforce removal of unlawful content.
The actor’s petition said the defendants’ actions “violate my fundamental right to privacy under Article 21 and tarnish the reputation and goodwill I have built over decades.” She discovered the misuse in November 2025 when an event titled “Shilpa Shetty Award Show – Client Promotion Packages” was advertised without her consent. Since then, she claims, violations have continued daily across platforms.
The petition alleges that AI-driven tools have created deepfake videos and voice clones portraying her in “obscene, indecent and defamatory contexts.” It also points to GIF-hosting platforms using clips from her films without permission, and e-commerce sites selling products such as “Shilpa Shetty Yellow Saree” and “Fear Less – Shilpa Shetty Celebrity T-shirt,” falsely implying endorsement.
Jewellery marketed as “Shilpa Shetty Inspired Choker Set” and manipulated visuals circulating on Reddit and other platforms are among the cited examples.
Ms. Shetty argues that these acts infringe her personality rights under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, moral rights under Sections 38, 38A and 38B of the Copyright Act, and amount to passing off under common law.
The defendants include Amazon and Flipkart for hosting infringing listings, while Meta, Google and X Corp have been named for enabling dissemination of manipulated content, the petition said. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications have been impleaded as proforma parties to ensure enforcement of court orders.
“No one can utilize or imitate any facet of my personality—be it my name, image or voice—without consent,” Ms. Shetty said in her petition, warning that inferior quality goods and defamatory content “debase my persona and mislead the public.” The actor has sought a dynamic injunction to block future infringing content and mirror websites, and John Doe orders to restrain unidentified wrongdoers.
Published – November 28, 2025 03:23 am IST
