A legal dispute between singer Sonu Nigam and his namesake, Bihar-based criminal lawyer Sonu Nigam Singh, over the alleged misuse of the singer’s identity on social media has been settled by the Bombay High Court. Last week, the Court disposed off the commercial intellectual property suit after the two parties reached an amicable agreement.
However, the singer says he is not entirely satisfied with the outcome. He tells us, “I quit X in 2017 but this person kept impersonating me. If I met President Droupadi Murmu, he would post a photo as if I am posting it. It is cruel to put someone’s name, reputation and life at risk,” adding, “My family and I started receiving threats for posts this guy had made. He would post something and people would hurl abuses at me.”
Nigam says he is relieved that the Court has issued a strict warning to the lawyer, but believes cases involving identity rights needs stricter laws. “Such people should be put in prison. He may have not murdered me physically but he harmed me and my reputation. Saste mein chhoot gaya bahut. Even the PM (@narendramodi) follows him thinking that is my account.”
Nigam had filed the suit before the Bombay HC in July last year, alleging violations of his personality rights and digital impersonation by the lawyer. The account was allegedly used to post politically charged and communally sensitive content. Since Nigam had left X, the account was allegedly mistaken for that of the singer.