Aniruddhacharya personality rights: The Delhi High Court (HC), in a significant ruling, granted interim protection to preacher Aniruddhacharya, known as ‘Pookie Baba’ among the netizens, pulling the plug on the unauthorised use of his name, voice and image across social media platforms. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the order on March 30, 2026, which came in response to a lawsuit filed by the preacher. The preacher had alleged rampant misuse of his persona through memes, videos and AI-generated deepfake content.
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Preacher Aniruddhacharya[/caption]
In its verdict, the HC directed major social media platforms, like Meta, X and Google, to remove the offending material identified by the plaintiff with immediate effect.
Aniruddhacharya personality rights: ‘Not mere parody,’ says HC
The court, while noting that there was a prima facie case, and keeping in view the reputation of Aniruddhacharya, rejected the argument that the flagged content amounted to harmless parody. The bench held that the material appeared ‘infringing and disparaging’ in nature, with the potential to cause real and immediate harm to the preacher’s reputation and public image. Furthermore, the court acknowledged that the apprehension of reputational damage was neither speculation nor exaggerated, but ‘real and present.’
Aniruddhacharya alleges entities exploiting his identity
Aniruddhacharya, in his plea, alleged that multiple entities had been exploiting his identity without his consent to procure unlawful commercial gains, effectively free-riding on his goodwill and influence. His counsel contended that fabricated and misleading content was being circulated online, portraying him falsely as endorsing dubious schemes and substandard products.
The petition also raised concerns over distortion of his teachings, which led to confusion among followers and risked misleading the wider public.
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Preacher Aniruddhacharya during a teaching[/caption]
These celebrities secured interim relief earlier
Notably, several eminent personalities, such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sudhir Chaudhary and Raj Shamani had earlier approached the HC with similar concerns, and were granted interim relief.
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