In 2023, Aaradhya Bachchan, the daughter of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, approached the Delhi High Court, claiming that YouTube hosted "completely false" videos about her health and personal life. A petition was submitted requesting safeguards for her personality rights. On Thursday, the Delhi High Court outlined several significant legal issues it will examine while adjudicating Aaradhya's case.
What Delhi High Court said in Aaradhya Bachchan's case
The case began after several YouTube videos levelled unfounded accusations about her health, alleging that she was gravely unwell and had been admitted to a hospital. During Thursday’s hearing, Justice Anup J Bhambhani noted that while the worth and reputation of a trademark are linked to a product or service, the situation is "somewhat contextually different when you are talking about a person.
Justice Bhambhani posed the question: "If a family name is comparable to a reputation linked to a trademark, how many generations can that reputation in a family name extend to? A particular surname may gain renown because of accomplishments, distinction in a specific field, and so on. So, this reputation that you are effectively treating as a trademark—does it pass down through generations? If it does, how far does it go?"
The court also considered whether the circulation of false or misleading news, even when it is of an “egregiously despicable nature,” could constitute a violation of intellectual property rights and, if so, which particular category of IP rights might be engaged. Advocate Pravin Anand, representing the plaintiffs, argued that any attempt to damage or exploit the family’s goodwill must be restrained, stressing that such goodwill can diminish over time. He further pointed out that photographs of the entire family were being used and that the Bachchan name was being associated with the allegedly fabricated news.
Earlier, on April 20, 2023, the court barred several YouTube channels from circulating misleading information about Aaradhya Bachchan’s health. The single-judge bench remarked that spreading falsehoods about a child demonstrated “morbid perversity” and held that Google could not permit the distribution of such content.
The court further emphasised that every child is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, noting that the dissemination of false information regarding a child's health is "wholly unacceptable in law." The case is now set to be heard again in September..
About the case
In 2023, Aaradhya, through her father Abhishek Bachchan, moved the Delhi High Court against multiple YouTube channels and unidentified persons for allegedly publishing defamatory and misleading content about her and the Bachchan family. The case concerned videos that falsely asserted she was gravely ill and hospitalised, including one that claimed she had died, while others accused the family of postponing her medical treatment. The petition also requested safeguards for their private information.
