Sunil Gavaskar approaches the Delhi High Court...

Former Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights. He alleged that his name and photographs were being misused without authorization across social media platforms and e-commerce websites for commercial purposes. After hearing the matter, the Delhi High Court issued significant directions, stating that Gavaskar’s plea should be treated as a formal complaint and instructed social media platforms to immediately remove content that violates his rights.

Justice Manmeet Pritam observed that individuals seeking action against objectionable online content must first exhaust the grievance redressal mechanism available under the IT Rules before approaching the court.

Meanwhile, intermediaries informed the court that they would provide basic subscriber information (BSI) and IP address details of the accounts involved. Taking note of this, the High Court directed the concerned intermediaries to take a decision on Gavaskar’s complaint within a week. The petitioner was also asked to submit specific URLs of the infringing content within 48 hours through his counsel. The matter has been listed for further hearing on December 22.