Copyright Violation: Delhi HC orders actor Rakshit Shetty's production house to pay Rs 25 lakh to MRT Music

Bengaluru: The Delhi High Court has ordered Paramvah Studios, the production house of Kannada actor Rakshit Shetty to pay Rs 25 lakh to MRT Music for the unauthorised use of two songs in his Kannada movie Bachelor Party.

Justice Tejas Karia, by a 72-page judgment on March 28, held the Bengaluru-based production house liable for copyright infringement and wilful disobedience of an earlier court direction, rejecting the filmmaker’s defence that the film's use of two songs for a ‘minimal’ length would not need a license from the copyright owners.

MRT Music claimed ownership over the Kannada songs Nyaya Ellide and Omme Ninnannu, and the High Court, by an interim order in August 2024, directed the Paramvah Studios to deposit Rs 20 lakh within four weeks and take down the content. The defendant, however, did not comply with the directions within the said time period and continued to use the work leading the MRT Music to initiate a contempt petition.


Paramvah Studios subsequently deposited the amount during the proceedings, but the delay led to the contempt action. The production house argued that the song Nyaya Ellide appeared for only seven seconds and Omme Ninnannu for 31 seconds to argue that their use was very minimal. The Court, however, found that the songs were carefully selected to drive the movie’s narrative.

MRT Music had also informed the court that Paramvah promoters did not bother to respond despite its efforts to reach out to them to issue a license to use the songs for a fee. The Court held that “the license fee demanded by the Plaintiff was not excessive, unreasonable or exorbitant and there was no delay in communicating the same.”

The Judge held that Paramvah was aware of the August 2024 order of the court, but still it did not bother to comply with the order. “This constitutes intentional and deliberate non-compliance, for which the Defendants are accountable for contempt.” The court, however, took note of the affidavit furnished by Paramvah in October 2025, expressing regret for its actions and exercised leniency. Instead of imposing a simple imprisonment on Paramvah promoters, the court imposed an exemplary cost of Rs 5 lakh and ordered it to pay MRT Music to clear it of the contempt committed.