A week after the Supreme Court nudged music composer AR Rahman to consider formally recognising the Dagarwani lineage behind the song Veera Raja Veera, Rahman on Friday agreed to acknowledge the rendition of the Junior Dagar Brothers in the credits of the track from the film Ponniyin Selvan II.
Recording the concession, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi directed that the modified credit line be reflected across all social media and OTT platforms within five weeks.
The additional credit will read: “Composition inspired by the Dagarwani tradition Dhrupad, first recorded as ‘Shiv Stuti’ by late Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar, popularly known as Junior Dagar Brothers.”
The statement was made by senior counsel Abhishek Singhvi, on behalf of Rahman, without prejudice to the copyright infringement suit pending before the Delhi high court, filed by Dhrupad vocalist Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, who is a successor of the Junior Dagar Brothers.
The development follows pointed observations by the top court during the previous hearing on February 13, when it impressed upon Rahman to consider acknowledging Dagar’s contribution in the “larger interest of music”. At that hearing, the bench observed that the dispute was not merely about legal technicalities of authorship and originality, but also about respect and recognition for a classical lineage.
“See, there should be some acknowledgement. They are traditional worshippers of classical music. He is not in the competitive domain. They want respect and recognition,” the court had told senior advocate Singhvi, appearing for Rahman.
The bench went further, invoking the contribution of gharanas to Hindustani classical music. “If these gharanas had not contributed to shastriya sangeet, do you think these modern singers would have managed?” it asked.
Noting that Rahman had already acknowledged the Dagarwani tradition, the court had suggested that the credits could specifically mention that the composition was first performed by the predecessors of the petitioner. Singhvi had sought time to take instructions.
On Friday, he informed the court that Rahman had agreed to the suggested acknowledgment while maintaining that the concession would not affect his defence in the main copyright suit.
Singhvi also expressed concern over media reports that suggested Rahman had suffered a “setback” in court the previous week. The bench responded that it could not regulate how proceedings were reported, but clarified that the civil suit would proceed independently and uninfluenced by any observations made during the Supreme Court hearing.
With the credit issue resolved at this stage, the court disposed of Dagar’s appeal challenging a division bench order of the Delhi high court that had diluted earlier interim relief granted in his favour.
Dagar has claimed that Veera Raja Veera was copied from Shiva Stuti, a composition he says was created by his father Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and uncle Zahiruddin Dagar — known as the Junior Dagar Brothers. According to him, while the lyrics differ, the taal, beat, and musical structure are identical.
Rahman has denied the allegation, contending that Shiva Stuti is part of the traditional Dhrupad repertoire in the public domain and that Veera Raja Veera is an original work composed with western musical elements and layered orchestration.
The court was hearing an appeal by Dagar against a September 2025 ruling of a division bench of the Delhi high court, which had set aside an earlier single-judge interim order recognising a prima facie case of copyright infringement.
The single-judge had directed that credit for the song be shared with the Junior Dagar Brothers and had ordered Rahman and the production entities to deposit ₹2 crore with the registrar general of the high court. The division bench later reversed that direction, holding that no sufficient prima facie case of exclusive authorship had been made out at the interim stage.