Delhi High Court Criticizes Vivek Oberoi for Evading Legal Proceedings in Personality Rights Case
The Delhi High Court has raised concerns over actor Vivek Oberoi’s apparent avoidance of further involvement in his ongoing personality rights lawsuit following the issuance of a favorable interim order. This observation was made by Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani in the case titled Vivek Anand Oberoi v Collector Bazar & Ors.
Justice Bhambhani noted this behavior while ruling on a request to exclude two URLs from an ex parte interim injunction previously granted to Oberoi on February 5. “After obtaining a favorable order on 05.02.2026, which safeguards the plaintiff’s ‘personality rights’, it seems the plaintiff is now avoiding further engagement in these proceedings, particularly concerning the issues raised by defendant No.21,” stated the Court.
The application to exclude the URLs was submitted by X Corp, arguing that these posts were unrelated to Oberoi’s personality rights and constituted legitimate expressions of free speech on its social media platform. Despite being granted time, Oberoi did not respond to the application. On July 17, the Court warned that non-response within a week would be interpreted as Oberoi not opposing X Corp’s application.
During proceedings, Oberoi’s legal representation indicated a lack of communication from the actor and requested to withdraw from the case. It was reported to the Court that the July 17 order was communicated to Oberoi via email, speed post, and through his manager, yet there was no reply.
The Court consequently excused the counsel from the case and assumed Oberoi had no objections to X Corp’s application. It was determined that the URLs in question were irrelevant to Oberoi’s personality rights, leading to their exclusion from the February 5 injunction.
Several defendants also accused Oberoi of abusing the Court’s processes by including unrelated links in the interim injunction. They claimed the injunction was being misused to suppress information about alleged misconduct involving a company linked to Oberoi, rather than protecting his personality rights. The Court, considering these claims, agreed to an expedited hearing scheduled for August 17 and granted the defendants a week to file their responses.
In light of Oberoi’s lack of representation, the Court appointed advocate Rohan J Alva as amicus curiae to ensure the actor’s interests were represented. The Court also mandated that the order be served to Oberoi through the principal district and sessions judge in Mumbai and the relevant police station’s station house officer.
Oberoi was previously represented by advocate Udayvir Rana, while X Corp was represented by advocates Ankit Parhar, Abhishek Kumar, and Tanish Gupta.
