Delhi High Court Issues Interim Order in Ilaiyaraaja–Saregama Dispute

The Delhi High Court has issued an interim order in a legal dispute which involves music composer Ilaiyaraaja and audio company Saregama. The court issued a ruling which prevents Ilaiyaraaja from using songs that belong to 134 different films until the court reaches its final decision. The order remains active until the hearings which are currently happening will reach their conclusion.

Background of the Dispute

• The issue relates to 134 films which released between 1976 and 2001. Ilaiyaraaja composed music for these films.
• Saregama claims that the film producers sold all music rights to their company. Saregama asserts that it owns all rights to the songs based on this assertion.
• Ilaiyaraaja recently granted permission to certain music streaming platforms to use his songs. Saregama objected to this move and approached the court.

Court’s Observations

• The Delhi High Court stated that if the rights were legally transferred by the producers to Saregama then the company holds complete rights over the songs.
• The court specified that Saregama must grant permission before anyone can use the songs until the case reaches a conclusion. The interim order contains this instruction to be followed.

Earlier Trigger for Legal Action

• The public became aware of the dispute after the two parties disagreed over a song from the film Agathya which was released last year. Following this issue tensions between Ilaiyaraaja and Saregama increased.
• The case is currently undergoing judicial examination. The final verdict will establish who owns the disputed songs and how they can be used.