Music composer A.R. Rahman and the makers of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan were ordered by Delhi High Court to pay Rs 2 crore in a copyright lawsuit filed by singer Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar. The court observed that Rahman’s song Veera Raja Veera from Ponniyin Selvan II was identical to Shiva Stuti, composed by Dagar. Earlier today, the Delhi High Court granted relief by staying an interim injunction.

Delhi HC on AR Rahman’s copyright case

A Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla passed the order while hearing Rahman`s appeal against a single-judge ruling. "We have allowed the appeal. We have authored concurrent opinions. We have set aside the impugned order by the single-judge on principle," the bench observed. However, the Court clarified that it had not examined the actual question of infringement at this stage.