The Supreme Court granted relief to the makers of Kantara on Thursday, 9 February, by staying the Kerala High Court's bail condition, which restrained the use of the song 'Varaharoopam' in the film.
The film's actor and director Rishab Shetty and Vijay Kirgandur have also been granted anticipatory bail in the case over alleged copyright infringement, according to a report by Live Law.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala issued the order after hearing the plea filed by the film's director and producer. Although the petition was not listed on 10 February, CJI considered it after an urgent mention was brought to his attention.
In continuation to the Live Law report, 'Varaharoopam' has been the subject matter of two lawsuits filed by Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Co Ltd and Thaikkudam Bridge, the copyright holder and creator, respectively, of a song called 'Navarasam' that was released around 5 years ago.
"The High Court felt very strongly that you people have plagiarised somebody's song. But the point is you can't impose these conditions for granting anticipatory bail. You can't decide a copyright suit in an anticipatory bail", CJI said after passing the order," as per the Live Law report.
The CJI also criticised the High Court for imposing such a condition and said that an anticipatory bail application cannot be used to resolve copyright issues.
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