Delhi High Court Orders Removal of Deepfake Videos Impersonating Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The Delhi High Court issued an interim injunction against deepfake videos impersonating spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar created using voice cloning and deepfake AI tools. The videos, which surfaced between July and August 2025, falsely showed him endorsing Ayurvedic remedies for various ailments. The court ordered social media platforms and internet service providers to remove and block access to the infringing content.
What happened
Between July and August 2025, multiple deepfake videos surfaced online impersonating spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The videos, created using voice cloning and deepfake AI technologies, falsely showed him endorsing Ayurvedic or natural remedies for ailments including diabetes, haemorrhoids and chronic knee pain, misleading the public that he had personally researched or discovered these remedies.
On October 1, 2025, the Delhi High Court, hearing a suit filed by Ravi Shankar, issued an ex parte ad interim injunction restraining unidentified defendants from circulating deepfake content using his name, voice, facial expressions, persona and likeness across any medium, including AI-generated formats and metaverse platforms, without authorisation.
Reported impact
The court found that the unauthorized circulation of deepfake content amounted to a clear infringement of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's personality and publicity rights, causing irreparable harm and misleading the public. The court emphasized that failure to restrain such acts would cause serious damage to his reputation and identity.
Index analysis
The deepfake videos exploited advanced AI technologies including voice cloning and deepfake generation to create realistic but false content impersonating the plaintiff. The use of his name, likeness, voice and facial expressions in AI-generated format constituted unauthorized misuse of his persona for commercial endorsement purposes.
Governance controls
The Delhi High Court ordered Facebook's parent company (Meta) to remove infringing content within 36 hours and directed domain registrars to suspend and lock identified websites within 72 hours. The court also directed the Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to notify internet service providers to block access to offending websites.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.