The Delhi High Court on Wednesday revoked an interim injunction previously issued against music composer AR Rahman in a copyright dispute concerning the song 'Veera Raja Veera' from the 2023 Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan 2 (PS2).
The injunction, granted by a single-judge bench, had required Rahman and the film’s producers to credit the Dagar brothers on all digital platforms, imposed costs of Rs 2 lakh, and directed a deposit of Rs 2 crore.
What did the bench say?
A Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla allowed Rahman’s appeal, stating, 'We have allowed the appeal. We have authored concurrent opinions. We have set aside the impugned order by the single-judge on principle.' The bench clarified that it had not examined the substantive allegations of copyright infringement.
Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar had filed the case
The case was filed by Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, Padma Shri awardee and classical singer, who alleged that the composition of 'Veera Raja Veera' copied the musical structure of Shiva Stuti, originally composed by his father Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and uncle Zahiruddin Dagar. While Rahman acknowledged Shiva Stuti as a traditional Dhrupad composition in the public domain, he maintained that Veera Raja Veera is an original work incorporating Western musical principles and 227 distinct layers.
The single-judge had initially ruled in Dagar’s favour on April 25, granting the interim injunction. Following Rahman’s appeal, the Division Bench stayed the injunction and associated costs on May 6, while upholding the direction to deposit Rs 2 crore, noting that this was not a judgment on the merits.
AR Rahman's legal team
AR Rahman was represented by Saikrishna Rajagopal, Sneha Jain, Vivek Ayyagari, Akshat Agrawal, Kuber Mahajan, Vishnavi Rao, and Arunima Nair of Saikrishna and Associates, while Neel Mason, Arjun Harkauli, Vihan Dang, Ujjawal Bhargava, and Abeer Shandilya of Mason and Associates represented Dagar.
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