Deepfakes and the Law in India: Copyright, Personality Rights and the Need for a Comprehensive Legal Framework

The fast growth of artificial intelligence has enabled the creation of deepfakes, which are very realistic audio, video, and images that are made or changed using artificial means. Even though deepfakes can be useful for art, jokes, teaching, and fun, they are now more often used to pretend to be someone else, share fake news, harm people's reputations, steal money, and create unwanted explicit photos or videos without consent. These uses put a person's privacy, dignity, identity, and ability to control their own creative work at risk. This paper looks at how Indian laws deal with deepfakes right now. It looks at the Information Technology Act from 2000, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita from 2023, the Information Technology Rules from 2021 which were updated in February 2026, and the Copyright Act from 1957.It also looks at personality rights and the right of publicity. It also looks at the techniques used to find deepfakes and the challenges of proving who made them, determining responsibility, and helping victims get help quickly. The paper says that the current rules, even though they work to some extent, are broken up into different parts, weren't made with synthetic media in mind, and only give some protection to a person's digital image. Victims continue to have difficulty getting help that comes quickly and really makes a difference. India needs a clear and full plan that brings together changes in laws, better technology, and working with other countries.This plan should balance new ideas and free speech with making sure people's rights are protected.