New Delhi, Nov 25: The Delhi High Court on Friday passed an interim order restraining unauthorised use of actor Amitabh Bachchan’s voice, image, name or any other trait exclusively identifiable with him by any individual.
The court’s order came on a lawsuit by the veteran actor alleging exploitation of his “publicity rights as a celebrity” by several individuals, including the person behind a “KBC lottery” to scam the public.
The 80-year-old Bachchan is the host of popular TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).
Justice Navin Chawla said it is undisputed that Bachchan is a well-known personality and is likely to suffer an irreparable loss and disrepute if relief is not granted at this stage.
Opining that a case for relief at this stage has been made out by the actor, the court ordered, “There shall be an ad interim ex parte order of injunction”.
“The defendants appear to be using his celebrity status for promoting their own activities without his authorisation or permission. The plaintiff is therefore likely to suffer grave irreparable harm or injury to his reputation. In fact, some of the activities complained of may also bring disrepute,” the court said.
The court directed telecom authorities to take action to pull down websites providing the content in violation of Bachchan’s rights.
It also directed telecom service providers to block access to telephone numbers circulating infringing messages.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, who appeared on behalf of the actor, said the relief of injunction was sought not only against the individuals named in the lawsuit but also against “john doe” parties or unknown parties who may be exploiting Bachchan’s publicity rights.
Advocates Ameet Naik and Pravin Anand also appeared for Bachchan before the high court.
Salve argued that besides the lottery, domain names were registered under the actor’s name; there was “Amitabh Bachchan Video Call” service and even T-shirts bearing his photographs.
In his lawsuit, Bachchan has asserted that only he exercises the “control over commercial utilisation of his personality, name, voice, image, likeness and other characteristics that are uniquely identifiable and associated” with him and no one can “utilise”, “misappropriate” or “imitate” any facet of his personality or “exploit the same commercially” without his consent or express authorisation.
The elements of plaintiff’s persona have a huge commercial value associated with them and any third party found using any of them is bound to cause confusion and deception amongst the general public, asserted the lawsuit which has sought Rs 2 crore from the defendants as damages.
It has informed that one of the defendants is allegedly circulating messages on WhatsApp with the actor’s image to promote “KBC lotteries”, which scams the public into believing that ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ was offering lottery prizes to the general public.
Another defendant, the plea adds, is selling a general knowledge quiz book with Bachchan’s image for aspirants who wish to participate in the television quiz show.
In his plea seeking interim relief, Bachchan has said that due to his goodwill and reputation, he is “one of the most sought-after celebrities for brand endorsements” and to protect the same, he “ensures that he endorses a product only after carrying out a thorough background check of the brand, its perception in the minds of the public and other relevant factors”.
“The present suit is being filed to protect the plaintiff’s name, voice, image, likeness, and all other elements of the plaintiff’s persona which are distinctive and the unauthorised use of which by third parties is likely to create confusion and deception amongst the public,” it has further said.
The matter would be heard next in March. (Agencies)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the history that is taught in India even after Independence is one that was written “as part of a conspiracy” during the colonial era. He was speaking at the 400th birth anniversary celebrations of Assam war hero Lachit Barphukan.

“India’s history is the history of warriors, the history of victory, the history of sacrifice, selflessness and bravery,” Modi said. He further said: “After Independence there was a need to change the agenda of slavery but it did not happen.” He said that in every corner of the country, brave sons and daughters fought oppressors but this history was intentionally suppressed. “Is the valour of Lachit Barphukan not important? Are the sacrifices of thousands of people in Assam against Mughals not important?” the prime minister asked.

Barphukan’s life inspires us to rise above dynasty and think about the country. He had said that no relationship is bigger than the country, Modi said. Barphukan was the famous General of the Royal Army of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam who defeated the Mughals and successfully halted their ever expanding ambitions under Aurangzeb.

India has extended an invitation to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to be the chief guest on Republic Day on January 26.

The invitation to El Sisi, who has been the Egyptian president since 2014, comes as India looks to increase its political and military ties with Cairo. Egypt is the 2nd largest economy in Africa. This year, both countries celebrated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar wrote in a tweet, “Honoured to call on President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi and handed over a personal message.”

Jaishakar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Egypt earlier this year. During the visit, Singh held bilateral talks with his Egyptian counterpart General Mohamed Zaki. They signed an MoU to focus on joint training, defence coproduction and maintenance of equipment. 

President Sisi visited India in September 2016. Egypt is keen on buying India’s Tejas fighter jets. Sisi also met Indian PM Narendra Modi at the Third India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in October 2015. Since PM Modi became prime minister, India has extended invites to US President Barack Obama (2015), French President Francois Hollande (2016), UAE’s Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2017), all the ASEAN Leaders (2018), South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa (2019) and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro (2020) to watch the Republic Day parade. 

The total coal production in the country stands at 448 million tonnes (MT) as of October 2022 which is 18 per cent higher than the production of the corresponding period of last year. The growth of coal production from Coal India Ltd (CIL) is also more than 17 per cent.

The Ministry of Coal is planning to build stock at domestic coal-based plants to the tune of 30 million tonnes by the end of November 2022. It proposes to keep building the stock so that by the end of 31 March 2023, Thermal Power Plants (TPP) stocks go up to 45 million tonnes. It is further planned to enhance coal stock at the pithead.

During the first seven months this year, there was a nine per cent growth in average rakes per day availability which is helping to transport a higher quantity of coal and building up stocks at power plants.

The Ministry of Power is also augmenting the transportation of coal through rail-cum-road mode. The CIL has communicated the quota for the RCR mode of lifting to all the power-generating companies for the next eight months. This will help power-generating companies to plan transportation logistics in advance.

Different ministries are working together to promote the transportation of coal through the sea route. So far, the transportation of coal from MCL to Paradip by rail and thereafter to power plants on the Eastern Coast is being made through the rail-sea-rail route.

The government is promoting the transportation of coal from coal mines in the eastern parts of the country to power plants located on the western coast or northern parts of the country.

Accordingly, the capacity of coal transportation to Paradip is being augmented. It is planned to start a movement of coal for western coast plants through RSR by early next year. The government is planning to promote the transportation of coal through all three possible modes.

The Ministry of Coal is closely monitoring issues related to the production, transportation, and quality of domestic coal.