Supreme Court transfers Ilaiyaraaja’s case to Bombay High Court: Copyright case will be filed with Sony, court’s move to avoid contradiction
An important case related to the copyright dispute of music legend Dr. Ilaiyaraaja has reached the Supreme Court, where a decisive order was given today. The Supreme Court has ordered the transfer of the ongoing copyright case involving Ilaiyaraaja from the Madras High Court to the Bombay High Court, accepting the transfer petition filed by Sony Entertainment India. According to the report of Hindustan Times, this case has emerged as a conflict between two separate cases. In January 2022, Sony Music filed a civil suit in the Bombay High Court, seeking a permanent injunction to stop Ilaiyaraaja from illegally using 536 musical compositions. Sony claims that it has purchased the rights from Oriental Records and Echo Recordings and hence holds the copyrights to these songs. Conversely, in September 2025 Ilaiyaraaja filed a similar suit in the Madras High Court, taking legal action against Sony and challenging his rights. The purpose of this rights dispute is to decide who actually is the legal owner of these compositions, the composer himself or a third company. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Sony, argued in the Supreme Court that Ilaiyaraaja’s case filed in Madras is no different from the case filed earlier in Bombay and this could lead to different judgments by the two courts, which could lead to complexity and legal contradictions. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Ilaiyaraaja, raised questions over the jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court and argued that the case should be heard in Madras as it would allow the claims of both the parties to be heard in a fair manner. The bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Vinod K Chandran ultimately allowed Soni’s plea, saying it was necessary to transfer both such cases for hearing in the same court to avoid any conflicting judgment. Under this order, the dispute will now continue in the Bombay High Court. This decision is considered an important step in the growing legal battles over copyright rights between musicians and the music industry. Ilaiyaraaja has fought several lawsuits to protect the rights to his music for over a decade, and this move by the Supreme Court is now an attempt to normalize the legal process going forward in the same direction.
Source link
