New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed major social media intermediaries to act within three days on Bollywood star Salman Khan’s complaint seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights, intensifying a wave of similar actions filed by Indian celebrities in recent months.

Hearing Khan’s plea, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said a detailed interim restraining order against other entities named in the case will be issued shortly.

The court has instructed platforms to treat Khan’s suit as a formal complaint under the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and take “necessary steps” within 72 hours.

The actor alleged that several websites, social media accounts, unauthorised pages, and online sellers were misusing his images, voice clips, likeness, and persona to promote products, run advertisements, create deepfakes, and generate traffic without his consent — a pattern that has rapidly grown alongside AI-generated content and influencer commerce.

The court clarified that if intermediaries have any objections to specific URLs submitted by Khan, they must communicate these reservations directly to him, ensuring transparency in the takedown process.

Khan’s petition emphasised that personality rights — also known as the right to publicity — allow a person to control, protect and commercially benefit from the use of their identity. Courts in India have increasingly recognised these rights, especially for public figures vulnerable to impersonation, deceptive endorsements, and privacy violations.

The actor’s move comes amid a surge of similar legal battles. Recently, celebrities including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgn, Karan Johar, Kumar Sanu, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and journalists and digital creators such as Sudhir Chaudhary and Raj Shamani approached the Delhi High Court alleging unauthorised use of their identity. All were granted interim protection.

Telugu star Jr NTR has also sought similar relief; his plea is currently pending. Legal experts say the cluster of cases indicates a growing urgency among Indian public figures to guard against AI-enabled misuse, fake endorsements and the booming grey market of celebrity-branded merchandise online.