Delhi HC sets aside copyright order against A.R. Rahman in ‘Veera Raja Veera’ song case

On Wednesday, the Delhi Supreme Court left the decision of April against the composer Arr Rahman, who won an Oscar in a copyright violation of the 2023 film Ponniyin Selvan-2 from Selvan-2.

April 25, 2025, Order, Rahman and the film’s joint producers-Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions-Mahkeme registered to deposit La Crore, to change loans on digital platforms, and to pay for classic vocalist and Padma Shri awards.

In the center of the case, whether the deceased young Dagar brothers – Ustad N. Faiyazuddin Dagar and Ustad Zahiruddin Dagar can be accepted as special writers of Shiva Stuti, a Dhrupad composition.

A justice bench C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla observed that the exclusive writing claim on Shiva Stuti composition, allegedly copied in Veera Raja Veera, could not be maintained.

“As the claim of authorship is rejected, there is no need to enter the other aspect of originality or violation,” he said. In the 93 -page decision, the Court underlined the complexity of the application of copyright law to classical music traditions.

“The realization of modern copyright principles based on individualization and the privilege of copyright protection, the realization of the realization of the current case, emphasizes the complex task of applying it to traditional heritage art forms for centuries,” he said.

The court also said that various branches of the Dagar family, including Gundara brothers and students, realized the same compositions without making special references.

The court said that the monopolization of such a composition will adversely affect how young musicians have learned Indian classical music and negatively affect sharing the composition during training ”.

The court’s decision, which applied for appeal by Rahman, put aside the findings of violations against him and financial obligation in April.