The Delhi High Court has expressed concern over actor Vivek Oberoi’s apparent absence from proceedings in his personality rights dispute after obtaining interim protection earlier this year.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani made the observation while allowing two posts on social media platform X to be removed from the ambit of an ex parte injunction granted in Oberoi’s favour on February 5 in the case Vivek Anand Oberoi v Collector Bazar & Ors.
According to the Court, the record suggested that once the actor received an order safeguarding his personality rights, he appeared to have distanced himself from the litigation, particularly in relation to objections raised by one of the defendants.
The controversy arose after X Corp sought exclusion of two URLs from the injunction, arguing that the posts neither infringed Oberoi’s personality rights nor carried any defamatory content. Instead, the company maintained that the posts amounted to ordinary expressions of free speech by users on the platform.
Despite being granted time to respond, Oberoi did not file any reply. Earlier, on July 17, the Court had warned that if no response was received within seven days, it would assume that the actor had no objection to X Corp’s plea.
When the matter was taken up again, Oberoi’s lawyer informed the bench that repeated attempts to contact the actor had yielded no response. The counsel stated that copies of the Court’s previous order had been sent through email, speed post and even through Oberoi’s manager, but no instructions had been received. Seeking permission to withdraw, the lawyer was subsequently discharged from the case.
In the absence of any opposition from Oberoi, the Court accepted X Corp’s request and held that the two disputed URLs bore no connection to the actor’s personality rights. It directed that the links be removed from the scope of the February injunction.
The hearing also saw several defendants accuse Oberoi of stretching the boundaries of the interim order by including links that allegedly had nothing to do with his public image or identity rights. According to them, the injunction was being invoked to suppress news reports concerning allegations of financial irregularities involving a company said to be closely associated with the actor.
Finding merit in the defendants’ request for an expedited hearing, the Court scheduled further proceedings on the interim injunction application for August 17 and granted the parties one week to submit their responses.
With Oberoi no longer represented by counsel, the High Court appointed advocate Rohan J. Alva as amicus curiae to ensure that the actor’s side of the case remains represented during the proceedings.
The Court also directed that copies of its order be served upon Oberoi through the principal district and sessions judge in Mumbai as well as the local police authorities.
