Delhi High Court stays interim order against AR Rahman in 'Veera Raja Veera' song copyright case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed an interim injunction issued against music composer AR Rahman by a single judge in a copyright infringement suit filed over the composition of the song ‘Veera Raja Veera’, which featured in the 2023 Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan 2 (PS2)..Indian classical singer Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, a Padma Shri awardee, had moved the Court alleging that the composition of the song was copied from the song Shiva Stuti, composed by his father Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and uncle Zahiruddin Dagar. A single judge of the High Court on April 25 ruled in favour of Dagar on his interim injunction application. It had directed Rahman and the movie producers to give credit to the Dagar brothers on all online platforms. The Court had also imposed costs of ₹2 lakh and asked Rahman and the producers to deposit a sum of ₹2 crore. The musician appealed against this order..The Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Ajay Digpaul today listed Rahman's appeal for disposal on May 23. It stayed the injunction in the meanwhile."As the subject matter of the copyright in which the injunction has been granted has been in public domain since 2023, without prejudice to the rights and contentions of both sides and without intending the order to be any expression on cases of the parties before us, we stay the operation of the injunction granted by Ld. Single Judge till the next date of hearing," the Court ordered.The Bench also stayed the costs imposed on Rahman and the producers. However, it directed them to deposit a sum of ₹2 crore in accordance with the single judge's order. It clarified that the direction for deposit was not an expression on the merits of the appeal..Dagar had alleged that while Veera Raja Veera contains different lyrics, its taal, beat and musical structure are identical to Shiv Stuti, which was performed globally by the Junior Dagar brothers and included in albums released by PAN Records.However, Rahman had denied the allegations, stating that Shiv Stuti is a traditional composition within the Dhrupad genre, part of the public domain. It was also argued that the Veera Raja Veera song is an original work, composed using Western musical fundamentals with 227 distinct layers, far beyond the conventions of Hindustani classical music..Last month, Justice Prathiba M Singh opined that Veera Raaja Veera was not not merely based on or inspired from Shiva Stuti but was, in fact, identical to its composition with mere change in lyrics."In this case, the core of the impugned song Veera Raja Veera is not just inspired but is in fact identical in Swaras (notes), Bhava (Emotion) and Aural impact (impact on the ear) of the suit composition Shiva Stuti, from the point of view of a lay listener. Hence the Defendant’s composition infringes the Plaintiff’s rights in Shiva Stuti," the Court had ruled..AR Rahman faces setback in copyright suit before Delhi High Court over 'Veera Raja Veera' song.Advocates Saikrishna Rajagopal, Sneha Jain, Vivek Ayyagari, Akshat Agrawal, Kuber Mahajan of Saikrishna & Associates represented AR RahmanAdvocates Neel Mason, Vihan Dang and Ujjawal Bhargava of Mason and Associates represented Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar.[Read Order]