SC Turns Down Ilaiyaraaja’s Plea For Transfer Of Copyright Case From Bombay HC To Madras HC

Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the request by legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja to transfer a copyright infringement case involving over 500 of his songs from the Bombay High Court to the Madras High Court.

The 3-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai along with Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, turned down the plea filed by Ilaiyaraaja’s counsel, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan.

The advocate had argued that the Madras court was the appropriate forum to hear the matter.

Sony Music Entertainment, the plaintiff in the suit, informed the bench that the lawsuit was initially filed in Bombay when no similar case was pending in Madras. Taking note of this, the court dismissed the transfer application.

This dispute began in 2022 when Sony Music Entertainment India filed a case in the Bombay High Court seeking to prevent Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd (IMMPL) from exploiting 536 musical compositions. Sony claims the rights to these works through Oriental Records and Echo Recording—companies involved in a prolonged legal tussle with the composer.

The defense, IMMPL, countered that 310 of these compositions are already being examined in a separate case before the Madras High Court. That suit, filed by Ilaiyaraaja himself in 2014 against Echo Recording, disputes their claims and asserts his moral and economic rights as per the Copyright Act.

The 2014 litigation resulted in a significant 2019 judgment that recognized Ilaiyaraaja’s moral and special rights as the original creator.

Ilaiyaraaja is widely regarded as one of India’s most prolific composers, with a staggering portfolio of more than 7,500 songs featured in nearly 1,500 films.