HC Grants Relief to AR Rahman in Row Over 'Veera Raja Veera' Song

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday overturned an interim injunction issued against music composer AR Rahman by a single-judge in a copyright infringement suit filed over the song ‘Veera Raja Veera’, which featured in the 2023 Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan 2 (PS2).

 

A Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla delivered the order on Rahman’s appeal.

 

"We have allowed the appeal. We have authored concurrent opinions. We have set aside the impugned order by the single-judge on principle," the Court observed.

 

The Bench, however, clarified that it had not examined the question of infringement.

 

Indian classical singer Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, a Padma Shri awardee, had filed the suit alleging that the composition of the song was derived from Shiva Stuti, created by his father Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and uncle Zahiruddin Dagar.

 

According to him, while Veera Raja Veera contains different lyrics, its taal, rhythm and musical structure are identical to Shiva Stuti, which had been performed worldwide by the Junior Dagar brothers and released in albums by PAN Records.

 

Rahman rejected the allegations, arguing that Shiva Stuti is a traditional Dhrupad composition in the public domain. He maintained that Veera Raja Veera is an original work, crafted using Western musical elements with 227 distinct layers, going well beyond the conventions of Hindustani classical music.

 

On April 25, the single-judge had ruled in favour of Dagar on his interim injunction plea. Rahman and the producers were directed to credit the Dagar brothers on all digital platforms. The Court also imposed costs of ₹2 lakh and ordered them to deposit ₹2 crore.

 

Rahman challenged the decision, and on May 6, a Division Bench stayed both the injunction and the costs imposed. However, it directed Rahman and the producers to deposit ₹2 crore in line with the single-judge’s order, clarifying that the deposit did not reflect the merits of the appeal.

 

 

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