The Court directed the social media intermediaries to treat Sunil Gavaskar’s suit as a complaint under the Information and Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and take necessary steps within seven days

The Delhi High Court on Friday (December 12, 2025) directed social media intermediaries to act within seven days on former cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar’s plea seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora asked Mr. Gavaskar’s counsel to first approach the social media intermediaries with his grievances.

The Court directed the social media intermediaries to treat Mr. Gavaskar’s suit as a complaint under the Information and Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and take the necessary steps within seven days.

It directed Mr. Gavaskar to provide, within 24 hours, the URLs he wants removed.

Mr. Gavaskar approached the Court seeking to prevent the unauthorised use of his name, images, persona, and likeness by social media platforms and e-commerce websites, and to protect his personality rights.

In recent months, the Delhi High Court has seen a surge of public figures seeking similar protection. Actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek and Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, and Ajay Devgn; filmmaker Karan Johar; singer Kumar Sanu; Telugu star Akkineni Nagarjuna; ‘Art of Living’ founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar; journalist Sudhir Chaudhary; and podcaster Raj Shamani have all secured interim relief from the Court.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan and Telugu actor NTR Rao Junior have also approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of their personality rights.