Deepfake row: Mohanlal withdraws plea, to return with stronger case

New Delhi: Indian actor, filmmaker and Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner Mohanlal on Tuesday withdrew his plea before the Delhi High Court seeking an interim injunction over alleged violations of his personality rights.

The court allowed him to withdraw the application and granted liberty to file a fresh plea with clearer details. The main suit remains pending and will be heard on Friday.

Justice Jyoti Singh recorded that the actor’s counsel sought to withdraw the interim application with the option to refile it with “complete and better particulars”.

During the hearing, Mohanlal’s counsel outlined multiple alleged violations, including unauthorised merchandise, deepfake and AI-generated content, voice cloning, fake endorsements, and misuse of the actor’s photos and videos.

The court asked whether the plaintiff had clearly listed the relief sought against each defendant along with the offending links. It also directed that the links be properly segregated and supported with details.

Earlier in the day, the court informally asked platforms to take down the disputed content. However, counsel for Meta Platforms raised questions on jurisdiction, noting that the actor is based in Kerala and many parties may fall outside the court’s jurisdiction. The court said such objections could be raised at an appropriate stage. 

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The court also noted that some alleged content uploaders had not been made parties to the case, and advised the actor’s legal team to refine the filings.

The plea is part of a growing number of cases involving personality rights and misuse of AI-generated content. Courts have recently passed similar protective orders in cases involving public figures such as Sonakshi Sinha and Salman Khan, among others.

The matter is now listed for hearing on March 27.