The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the removal of various online links containing the teaser of the proposed film “Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legacy,” observing that the promotional material prima facie infringed actor Salman Khan’s personality rights and had the potential to cause irreparable harm to his reputation.
The film is alleged to be based on the actor’s 1998 blackbuck poaching case, which remains pending before the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court.
Hearing an application in Salman Khan’s pending personality rights suit, the single-judge Bench of Justice Jyoti Singh said it would also direct the removal of interviews given by the film’s producer, Amit Jani. The Court indicated that if the producer failed to remove the teaser and related content within 24 hours, appropriate directions would be issued to online intermediaries, including X and YouTube, to take down the infringing material.
It also directed the actor’s counsel to prepare a tabulated list of all allegedly infringing URLs to facilitate the issuance of comprehensive takedown directions.
Expressing strong disapproval of the producer’s conduct, the Court observed that the continued circulation of the teaser was causing reputational harm to the plaintiff. It indicated that its forthcoming order would contain strong observations, remarking that such conduct must stop.
Stressing the importance of protecting an individual’s reputation, the Court observed that reputation, once lost, cannot be restored and further noted that the promotional material impermissibly linked the actor with pending criminal proceedings.
The directions were passed while hearing Salman Khan’s application seeking to restrain the release and circulation of the film on the ground that it unlawfully exploits his personality rights, commercial identity and public image, and falsely portrays events connected with him.
According to the application, the promotional material contains unmistakable references to Salman Khan, including the depiction of a lookalike wearing the actor’s iconic blue bracelet, an accessory that has become uniquely associated with him in the public imagination. The actor contends that these visual elements have been deliberately used to invoke his identity without authorisation, thereby amounting to unauthorised commercial exploitation of his persona.
The plea further alleges that one of the promotional posters depicts the lookalike carrying a rifle or firearm, thereby creating a misleading narrative that is contrary to the judicial record. Salman Khan submits that he was acquitted in the proceedings under the Arms Act arising from the 1998 incident and that the promotional material is capable of misleading the public regarding the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
He further contended that the continued dissemination of such content could prejudice his right to a fair trial, as proceedings relating to the alleged blackbuck poaching case are still sub judice before the constitutional courts.
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