Chennai– The legal battle between music legend R. Ilaiyaraaja and Sony Music Entertainment India took another turn on Wednesday, as the company declined to share its revenue statements detailing earnings from the commercial use of Ilaiyaraaja’s compositions, citing confidentiality concerns.
The matter came up before Justice N. Senthilkumar of the Madras High Court. Representing Sony Music, senior counsel Vijay Narayan told the court that while the company had submitted the statement of accounts in a sealed cover for the judge’s review, it could not be made available to Ilaiyaraaja or his legal team. He argued that the document contained sensitive commercial information, including revenue data from platforms such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify.
Narayan further contended that Ilaiyaraaja had no legal right to seek the company’s revenue records until he could establish ownership over the songs in question — compositions created for films for which he had already been paid by the producers.
Opposing this stance, senior counsel S. Prabakaran, appearing for Ilaiyaraaja, argued that the Supreme Court has consistently disapproved of the practice of submitting documents in sealed covers. He urged the High Court to direct Sony Music to disclose the details openly, saying that withholding such information undermined judicial transparency.
Justice Senthilkumar, however, decided not to open the sealed cover at this stage. The court was informed that Sony Music has already moved the Supreme Court seeking to transfer Ilaiyaraaja’s lawsuit from the Madras High Court to the Bombay High Court, where it filed a related civil case in 2021 to declare itself the rightful copyright holder of certain songs composed by the veteran musician. That suit also seeks to restrain Ilaiyaraaja from asserting commercial rights over those works.
Vijay Narayan told the court that the Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran had issued notice to Ilaiyaraaja on October 15 and is expected to hear the transfer petition on November 26.
Acknowledging this, Justice Senthilkumar noted that High Courts typically refrain from proceeding with cases pending transfer before the apex court. Accordingly, the judge directed that Ilaiyaraaja’s case be listed for further hearing on November 27, after the Supreme Court’s decision on the transfer plea.
Until then, the statement of accounts submitted by Sony Music will remain sealed. (Source: IANS)
