Ilaiyaraaja Vs Saregama: Delhi High Court Refuses To Lift Ban On Legendary Composer’s Claim Over Songs From 134 Films

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to lift the interim injunction restraining veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja from claiming ownership, exploiting or licensing songs and musical works from 134 films, handing a significant relief to Saregama India Limited in the ongoing copyright dispute. At the heart of the dispute is a longstanding disagreement over ownership of film music. Ilaiyaraaja, the legendary composer behind thousands of memorable South Indian film songs, has maintained that as the creator of the music, he retains the moral and personal rights over his compositions and arrangements. Saregama India Ltd, however, contends that the copyright in the musical works and sound recordings originally belonged to the film producers, who later

assigned those rights to the company through agreements executed in return for financial consideration.

As per a report in Bar and Bench, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela declined to vacate the February 13 interim order, which prevents Ilaiyaraaja and those acting on his behalf from using, licensing or asserting ownership over works that Saregama claims are protected under its copyright.The injunction covers both sound recordings and the literary and musical works of songs from several iconic films, including the 1976 Sivakumar and Sujatha starrer Annakkili, 1977’s 16 Vayathiniley featuring Kamal Haasan, Sridevi, and Rajinikanth, as well as Sivakumar and Sridevi’s Kavikkuyil, Bharathi, Mani Ratnam’s 1983 debut Pallavi Anu Pallavi featuring Anil Kapoor and Lakshmi (incidentally this wasAnil Kapoor’s Kannada debut as well), Mullum Malarum, Raaja Paarvai, Netrikkann and Kalyanaraman*.The legal battle began after Saregama alleged that Ilaiyaraaja was licensing and exploiting works over which the music label holds copyright. According to the company, it acquired rights to these works through assignment agreements signed with film producers between 1976 and 2001, when copyright in the sound recordings and underlying musical and literary works was transferred to the company.

Saregama further claimed that it discovered alleged unauthorised use of its copyrighted works on streaming platforms, including Amazon Music, Apple iTunes and JioSaavn, in early February this year. It also pointed to a legal notice issued by Ilaiyaraaja on January 13, 2026, in which the composer asserted rights over musical works he had composed, arranged and orchestrated for various films, including those covered by the suit.While granting the ex-parte interim injunction in February, the High Court had observed that Saregama had established a prima facie strong case. The court also held that the balance of convenience lay in the company's favour and that it could suffer irreparable harm if interim protection was denied.Following that order, Ilaiyaraaja approached the court seeking to have the injunction vacated. However, the High Court on Wednesday rejected his plea, allowing the interim restrictions to remain in force until further proceedings in the copyright case.