Delhi HC Lifts Injunction, Temporarily Clears AR Rahman In ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’ Copyright Case

In a major legal update, the Delhi High Court has temporarily set aside an injunction against A.R. Rahman in the copyright dispute over the song ‘Veera Raja Veera’. The ruling, however, does not decide the final outcome, with the full trial still pending.

September 24, 2025: In a big legal update, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday lifted the temporary injunction against music composer AR Rahman in the copyright case over the song Veera Raja Veera from the movie Ponniyin Selvan 2. This ruling is a big win for Rahman for now, but the main problem of copyright infringement is still not settled.

Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla of the division bench agreed with Rahman’s appeal. This overturned an earlier ruling by a single judge that had favored famous classical singer Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar. The court made it clear that its decision to set aside the injunction does not affect the merits of the copyright claim itself, but rather the legal theory behind the previous order.

Background and Arguments

The legal fight started when Dagar, who had won the Padma Shri award, said that Rahman’s song was substantially influenced by Shiva Stuti, a song his father and uncle wrote in the 1970s. The single-judge panel had already agreed, saying that Veera Raja Veera was “identical” to the original and telling Rahman to pay Rs. 2 crore and provide credit to the Dagar family.

In its appeal, Rahman’s lawyers said that Shiva Stuti is a classic Dhrupad piece of music that is in the public domain and can’t be copyrighted. The division bench threw down the injunction, but it did keep the order for Rahman and the film’s producers to deposit the Rs. 2 crore with the court registry until the final decision is made. We are still waiting for the complete, detailed verdict, which will make the legal reasons for the decision clearer.