High Court
Red FM ecstatic at winning legal battle; reiterates commitment to reach smaller cities
NEW DELHI: Red FM, which was allowed to participate in the first batch of private FM Phase III auction earlier today by the Delhi High Court, is indeed heaving a sigh of relief, which is slated to commence from 27 July.
Reaffirming faith in the country’s judicial system, Red FM COO Nisha Narayanan said, “We feel that the Delhi High Court has accepted our submission that we have no connection with the reasons for denial of security clearance and rejection of our application.”
Emphasising that the Court had only read out the operative portion and the full judgment was not available yet, Narayanan added, “We will continue with auction according to our plans of bidding for more frequencies. We are one of country’s largest networks of FM stations and hopefully post the final outcome of these auctions we shall retain our leadership status.”
She expressed her pleasure for the permission to participate in the auction of first batch of private FM Radio Phase III channels starting from 27 July.
Expressing joy that the issue had been settled Narayanan said, “From the beginning we had kept a sizeable sim of money to be spent on these auctions (through which government stands to earn with go ahead on our participation). Our inclusion means healthy competition and will benefit the entire FM radio industry and media and entertainment industry at large.”
She said RED FM not only reaches to some of the smaller cities but also gives the local music and entertainment industry a voice. It always believes in being a socially active and relevant entertainment medium, creating employment opportunities for local youth specially women and become a voice of city wherever it operates its station.
“In Phase III, we also have plans of going ahead with the philosophy of nurturing not only commercially viable bigger metro cities but also reaching out to the last corner of the country,” she noted.
“At the end of Phase II we had the highest number of stations in North East and three-tier and four-tier cities as a network. This is something which we will continue in Phase III also,” she added.
High Court
Bombay High Court questions AI celebrity deepfakes in Shilpa Shetty case
Justice questions legality of unconsented AI personas, platforms directed to respond.
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court just put AI on the witness stand because when a chatbot starts chatting as Shilpa Shetty without asking, even the bench wants to know who gave permission. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday expressed serious concerns over the legality of artificial intelligence tools that simulate celebrity personalities without consent, during a personality rights suit filed by actor Shilpa Shetty.
Justice Sharmila Deshmukh, hearing the matter, questioned platforms that allow users to interact with AI-generated versions of actors without authorisation. The court noted that one accused AI chatbot website continued using Shetty’s personality without permission, prompting the judge to ask about the legal basis for such operations.
When the lawyer for the AI company argued that the system relied on algorithms and did not require celebrity consent, Justice Deshmukh challenged the platform’s right to recreate and make public a person’s identity in this manner. She observed that while users uploading photographs raised one set of issues, AI systems generating content based on recognised personalities posed distinct legal and ethical questions especially when the platform itself acknowledged the content was not real.
The court directed the platform to file a detailed response explaining its position.
The case involves Shetty seeking restrictions on more than 30 platforms including e-commerce websites and AI services accused of hosting or enabling misuse of her image and circulation of deepfake content.
The Bench also raised concerns about Youtube commentary videos discussing the ongoing proceedings involving Shetty and her husband, questioning whether unverified discussions could malign parties without journalistic checks.
Counsel for Google, Tenor and the AI entity informed the court that flagged infringing URLs had been removed. Shetty’s team disputed this, leading the court to allow her to file an application alleging non-compliance if links remained active.
Tenor objected to the broad injunction sought, arguing it functions as an intermediary GIF platform without capacity for proactive monitoring. The court directed Tenor to file an affidavit opposing the order.
E-commerce platforms including Amazon stated they had removed unauthorised listings using Shetty’s name and image, and would continue to act on specific notifications.
The court reiterated that directions for intermediaries would operate on a “take-down on notice” basis, requiring removal of infringing content once flagged.
As deepfakes blur the line between real and rendered, the Bombay High Court isn’t just hearing a case, it’s asking the bigger question: in the age of AI avatars, who really owns your face?
