The Delhi High Court on Friday directed musician AR Rahman and production company Madras Talkies to deposit Rs 2 crore with the registry and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on them in a copyright infringement case related to the song Veera Raja Veera from the film Ponniyin Selvan 2, reported The Hindu.

In 2023, Indian classical vocalist and Padma Shri awardee Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar moved the court claiming that Veera Raja Veera was copied from the song Shiva Stuti, composed by his father Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and uncle Zahiruddin Dagar, who were collectively known as the Junior Dagar Brothers.

The petition sought a permanent injunction restraining the defendants, including Rahman and Madras Talkies, from using the song, Bar and Bench reported. It also sought damages and the acknowledgement of moral rights.

At the hearing on Friday, Justice Prathiba M Singh said that Veera Raja Veera was not merely based on or inspired by the composition of Shiva Stuti but was identical to it with a few changes, Live Law reported.

In view of this, the court directed Rahman and Madras Talkies to deposit Rs 2 crore while the matter was being heard.

In his petition, Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar claimed that the taal, beat and musical structure in Veera Raja Veera was identical to Shiv Stuti even though it contained different lyrics, Bar and Bench reported.

Rahman, on the other hand, alleged that Shiv Stuti was a traditional composition within the Dhrupad genre in Hindustani classical music and was part of the public domain. Veera Raja Veera was also an original work, which was composed using Western musical fundamentals with 227 distinct layers, he contended.