Saregama calls for contempt action against Ilaiyaraaja for Delhi High Court Copyright Order
Saregama India Limited has reportedly filed a contempt petition against the famous music composer Ilaiyaraaja for violating an interim copyright injunction issued by Delhi High Court. The addition comes on top of a still unfolding battle over ownership and exploitation rights of several musical pieces linked to the veteran composer.
The conflict is related to copyright ownership of the songs and musical compositions from different cinematograph films. According to Saregama, the copyrights were obtained by it by assignment agreements with film producers and it has been commercially exploiting the works for several years. The company said though, Ilaiyaraaja had granted licences to third parties and claimed ownership of the work in which Saregama has exclusive claims.
Delhi High Court has issued interim injunction.On 13th February 2026, the Delhi High Court granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction against Ilaiyaraaja and his servants or agents from using or exploiting Saregama’s copyrighted works or granting licences for the same or asserting ownership rights over any third party in respect of the works mentioned in the court order.
The Court held that on the papers presented to it, Saregama had made out a prima facie strong case. It also had the opinion that it was in the best interests of Saregama, and that irreparable injury would be caused if continued unauthorised exploitation were allowed and that damages would not compensate for that injury.
The next events reflect the difficulty of determining who owns the copyright in music: The underlying musical composition, the lyrics and the sound recording may all represent copyright interests.
Ilaiyaraaja has argued he has independent rights to the musical compositions, as he’s composer. In an appeal against Saregama, the Delhi High Court, in a Division Bench, heard this issue in May 2026. The Court stated that copyright in a song can exist individually in the music, the words and the sound recording and the exact contractual arrangements between the composers, the producers and the assignees are important.
The lawsuit is not just between an artist and a music company. It poses very important issues under the Copyright Act, 1957 regarding first ownership (s. 17), exclusive rights of copyright holder (s. 14) and Licences (s. 30).
Contempt Allegation and Its SignificanceThe Court will also have to find if Saregama had deliberately violated the order of the Court issued on February. Disagreement over the interpretation of copyright ownership would not, on its own, constitute contempt: it would be compliance with the operating directions of the Court that would amount to that.
The controversy also underscores the significance of the concept of interim injunctions in IP cases. These types of orders are issued to ensure that the subject matter of the litigation is conserved and to prevent it from being exploited by the other parties in the meantime the underlying rights are being adjudicated.
The Saregama-Ilaiyaraaja case is one of the growing examples of the complex nature of creative authorship versus commercial copyright ownership. Although composers have legitimate rights to protect their creative endeavors, contractual assignments can have a significant impact on the rights that could be exercised in the future.
The contempt motions will, therefore, have to be decided not just on whether the judge has been complied with, but whether it is possible to validly assert a competing copyright claim while pending litigation, as well. The final hearing will be important to the Indian music business as it relates to the rights of creators, movie makers and music rights firms over valuable music catalogues, especially when it comes to commercially valuable ones.
