Delhi HC bars Ilaiyaraaja from using music in major dispute
Legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja has been temporarily barred by the Delhi High Court from using, licensing, or claiming ownership of music and recordings from 134 films.
This comes after Saregama India accused him of uploading these tracks to streaming platforms like Amazon Music and JioSaavn while asserting they were his.
Next hearing set for mid-March 2026
Saregama says it owns exclusive rights to these songs through deals with film producers between 1976 and 2001, covering several Indian languages.
The court agreed Saregama had a strong case and said letting Ilaiyaraaja use the music could cause "irreparable loss."
He now has four weeks to respond, with the next hearing set for mid-March 2026.
Under Indian copyright law, film producers usually own the music unless a contract says otherwise—making this one of India's biggest composer vs. label disputes.