Music Academy appeals against Madras High Court order restraining singer TM Krishna from conferring award
CHENNAI: The Music Academy and The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited have filed appeals in the Madras High Court against a single judge’s order barring them from conferring the annual Sangita Kalanidhi MS Subbulakshmi award for 2024, instituted by the The Hindu, to popular carnatic singer TM Krishna.
The single judge, on November 19, 2024, barred them from conferring the award in the name of the late singer Subbulakshmi holding that the institution of the award in her name went against her will.
However, the judge allowed the Music Academy to confer its ‘Sangita Kalanidhi’ Award to Krishna and stated the English daily can confer the award without bearing the name of Subbulakshmi.
Justice G Jayachandran had passed the orders on the civil suit filed by V Shrinivasan who claimed to be the legal heir of the late singer, challenging the conferring of the award since Krishna had made “derogatory” comments against Subbulakshmi.
The appeal suits stated, “The judge has erroneously applied the arm principle to conclude that the Will bars institution of awards in her name. It is clear from the recitals of the Will that there is no bar in respect of any award, much less a cash prize,” it said.
The appeal questioned the locus standi of the plaintiff Shrinivasan saying that he is just one of the several beneficiaries of the last Will of Subbulakshmi and as such he does not derive any enforceable right to sustain the suit as a legal representative of the testator and the judge had failed to consider such facts.
The judge ought to have considered that the case on hand does not pertain to the beneficial interests of the plaintiff and as such the suit ought to have been rejected as barred under section 216 of the Indian Succession Act.
When the appeals came up for hearing before a division bench of Justices SS Sundar and P Dhanabal on Friday, the counsel on record for The Hindu sought time as senior counsel PS Raman could not appear. Subsequently, the bench posted the matter to Monday.
Senior counsel T Mohan represents Music Academy.
