Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu married in 2017 and separated in 2021 after four years together. Their split triggered widespread online speculation and unverified claims about the reasons behind the divorce.
Image Source: Instagram
Telugu actor Akkineni Naga Chaitanya has filed a suit in the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights, including posts claiming he cheated on Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The court issued summons in the suit on Friday and indicated that an interim order would come out to protect the actor’s rights. The matter has been listed for its next hearing on September 30, 2026.
The suit alleges widespread and systematic unauthorised exploitation of the actor’s personality rights by various entities and unidentified defendants through pornographic websites, AI-generated content, deepfake videos, defamatory material and unauthorised commercial use of his identity.
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Representing the actor, advocate Vaibhav Gaggar argued that several online posts and videos falsely portray Naga Chaitanya as someone who betrayed Samantha Ruth Prabhu and ruined her career.
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The lawyers told the court that several posts and videos circulating online allegedly portray Chaitanya as having cheated on Samantha and being responsible for harming her career.
The actor has also raised objections over the alleged unauthorised use of his name and image across multiple online platforms and has expressed concern over AI-generated content, unauthorised merchandise and pornographic material allegedly circulated online using his identity.
Senior advocate Vaibhav Gaggar informed the court that Naga Chaitanya’s name, photographs and identity were on obscene websites and several digital platforms without his consent.
Gaggar submitted that several websites were actively using Chaitanya’s name alongside explicit search terms to attract traffic and circulate objectionable material.
The petition also highlighted the illegal sale of unauthorised merchandise featuring the actor’s likeness, along with the rampant circulation of AI-generated content using his image online.
During the proceedings, the counsel described the content as malicious trolling rather than legitimate public commentary. “This is trolling, this is not fair criticism,” the actor’s lawyer told the court while highlighting the reputational harm allegedly caused by the material circulating online.
During hearing, Justice Jyoti Singh observed public figures naturally face greater public scrutiny than ordinary individuals. However, the court also noted that such scrutiny has reasonable limits.
The court also took note of the plaintiff’s request for a dynamic injunction in view of the continuing emergence of allegedly infringing content online.
Regarding YouTube, counsel for YouTube submitted that some of the AI-generated videos identified by the plaintiff had already been removed. However, it was pointed out that certain links pertained to news reports, where a different legal threshold would apply.
The court directed that the actor’s name, voice and photographs should not be in use without his permission and granted him appropriate interim protection.
The matter was led by Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar and briefed by Advocates Somdev Tiwari, Akash Deep Gupta, Siddharth C., Abhishek Nair and Vansh Shrivastav on behalf of Sarvoday Legal.
Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu married in 2017 and separated in 2021. In December 2024, Chaitanya married Sobhita Dhulipala.
Chaitanya expressed sympathy for his current wife, Sobhita Dhulipala, who has faced backlash due to online speculation about her role in his divorce. “I feel very bad for her. She doesn’t deserve it. She came into my life in a very organic, beautiful way. We met through Instagram, and our relationship grew slowly from there,” he said.
He clarified that Sobhita had no connection to his past with Samantha.
Naga Chaitanya joins several Telugu and South Indian stars who have sought similar legal protection in recent months. Allu Arjun received a legal shield from the Delhi High Court in April against deepfakes and unauthorised use, while NTR secured personality rights protection in January.
His father, Akkineni Nagarjuna, had also previously secured similar protection from the Delhi High Court.
The suit alleges violations of the actor’s personality rights, performers’ rights under the Copyright Act, as well as infringement of his constitutional and common law rights. The suit argues that the fabricated content has caused serious and lasting harm to Chaitanya’s reputation, dignity, privacy and overall public image.
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