Published: 12:13 AM, 13 August 2026
Janhvi Kapoor gets relief from obscene content
Delhi High Court has ordered the removal of any obscene or pornographic materials that exist on the internet regarding actor Janhvi Kapoor, but fell short of giving a blanket injunction against any fan pages and other unauthorised material. Court held that personal rights cannot be construed in such a way that they act to curb freedom of speech, especially regarding celebrities.
According to Bar and Bench report, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani was hearing the case filed by Janhvi to seek the protection of her personality rights from any unauthorised use for commercial purposes. The actor had asked for an order against over 5,000 webpages and posts on various social media platforms where her image was being used for commercial gains.
While the court did agree that Kapoor was eligible for protection from such obviously offensive content, it wanted the lawyers of the plaintiff to be more selective regarding the content on which they are seeking immediate relief. For this purpose, the court told them to create a precise tabular format listing all those webpages which have such obviously pornographic, obscene or lascivious material.
However, the Court did not agree to the demand for removing fan pages because the Court realised that fan sites can have many variations; some may praise the work of an actor while others may criticize it. Justice Bhambhani said that this form of expression falls within the ambit of freedom that people enjoy on the Internet. “We are not the conscience keepers of the nation. Solution may be worse than the problem. It was at the very root of free speech,” Justice Bhambhani observed, adding “Fan pages may be lampooning, adulatory of your work, critical of your work. You don't want fans? It is the digital world. No comments, no URLs...You will find yourself living in a cave.”
The Court further questioned how a public personality could seek to shut down every fan club or unofficial page using their name. “They should just be genuflecting in front of you? Stand and touch my feet? How can you shut down all fan clubs? You are a public personality. Who is immune these days? Everyone who is in public domain is being abused left, right and centre.”
