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CDJ 2026 BHC 1130 print Preview print Next print
Court : High Court of Judicature at Bombay
Case No : Leave Petition (L) No. 19882 of 2026
Judges: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ABHAY AHUJA
Parties : Preity G. Zinta Versus Google LLC & Others
Appearing Advocates : For the Petitioner: Rohan Kadam, i/b B. Munim & Co., Advocates. For the Respondents: -----.
Date of Judgment : 16-06-2026
Head Note :-
Copyright Act, 1957 - Section 62 -

Comparative Citation:
2026 BHC-OS 13209,
Summary :-
1. Statutes / Acts / Rules / Orders / Regulations Mentioned:
- Section 62 of the Copyright Act, 1957
- Clause XII of the Letters Patent

2. Catch Words:
- injunction
- personality rights
- copyright infringement
- moral rights
- goodwill
- reputation
- deep fake
- AI‑generated content
- jurisdiction
- leave

3. Summary:
The petition seeks leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent to file a suit for injunction against multiple defendants for alleged infringement of an actress’s personality, copyright and moral rights. The petitioner, a resident of Mumbai, argues that the cause of action arises partly within the court’s jurisdiction and partly outside due to the defendants’ overseas locations and the online nature of the alleged infringements. The court examined the relevant paragraphs of the leave petition and the proposed suit. Finding merit in the arguments and the cited provisions, the court granted leave under Clause XII, enabling the petitioner to proceed with the suit in this court. Consequently, the petition was allowed and disposed of accordingly.

4. Conclusion:
Petition Allowed
Judgment :-

1. This Petition seeks leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent.

2. Mr. Kadam, learned Counsel appears for the Petitioner and submits that the Plaintiff in the Suit proposed to be filed, who is a renowned, award winning actress, film producer, entrepreneur and a widely celebrated personality, is seeking to file the Suit for injunction against the Defendants for breach of her personality rights, infringement of copy right and for loss of her immense goodwill and reputation and also violation of Petitioner’s moral rights under Section 62 of the Copyright Act, 1957 as the Defendants through AI generated deep fake videos, memes, manipulated images, AI generated chatbot personas and other digital contents created, uploaded, disseminated and made available to the general public from the various platforms are infringing her rights.

3. Mr. Kadam submits that the Petitioner is an Indian national, who is in India and primarily resides and works for gain in Mumbai within the jurisdiction of this Court and as such her goodwill, reputation, persona and features thereof are situate within the jurisdiction of this Court. That the dissemination of the offending materials are not only taking place within Mumbai, but also all over the world. That, therefore, although part of cause of action has arisen within the jurisdiction of this Court, considering that the Respondents No. 1 to 16 have their offices outside the jurisdiction of this Court and the offending activities and actions are on online platform, part of cause of action would have arisen outside the jurisdiction of this Court and with leave granted by this Court under Clause XII of the Letters Patent, this Court would have jurisdiction to entertain, try and dispose of the Suit.

4. Mr. Kadam has drawn this Court’s attention to paragraph 7 of the Leave Petition and paragraph 39 of the Plaint in the proposed Suit in support of his contentions.

5. Having heard the learned Counsel and having considered his submissions and also having perused paragraph 7 of the Leave Petition and paragraph 39 of the Plaint, this Court is of the view that, for reasons as contained in the said paragraphs and as submitted by the learned Counsel, leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent be granted and is hereby granted in terms of prayer Clause (a) of the Petition, which reads thus:

                   “(a) that this Hon’ble Court be pleased to grant leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent to enable the Petitioner to file the present Suit in this Hon’ble Court.”

6. The Petition accordingly stands allowed and disposed as above.
 
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