Bombay High Court Bars Singer Alok Kumar From Monetising Ten Rao & Sapru Songs, Orders Takedown Of Uploaded Tracks

The Bombay High Court has restrained singer-composer Alok Kumar from releasing, performing or monetising ten songs that Rao & Sapru Films Pvt. Ltd. says were created for the company under a series of agreements.The court also ordered Kumar to take down the songs he uploaded online and to hand over all master recordings and related material to the production house. In an order passed on December 5, 2025, Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh said the agreements between the parties prima facie showed that the songs were commissioned workscreated under a contract of service, making Rao & Sapru Films the copyright owner. The company told the court it had hired Kumar in December 2023 through three agreements to compose, write and sing ten tracks, paid him the agreed consideration, and spent heavily on post-production. Despite this, it said, Kumar later attempted to assert full ownership and on August 8, 2025, uploaded the songs on streaming platforms with a disclaimer identifying himself as their sole creator. It approached the High Court alleging unauthorised release and commercial exploitation.Kumar claimed he signed the agreements without being given an opportunity to read them and that the real terms included higher payment. He said he uploaded the songs only because the company delayed their launch and argued that the agreements were obtained by misrepresentation.The court rejected these arguments at the interim stage, pointing out that Kumar's signatures appeared on every page and that he did not take any immediate steps to challenge the contracts on grounds of fraud. TThe court said it was difficult to accept that an educated person would sign multiple contracts without knowing their contents, and noted that a July 18, 2025 email in which Kumar sought a no objection” and claimed 100% ownership showed he was aware that rights had been assigned to the company. Referring to the Copyright Act, the Court observed that the assignment clauses in the agreements were comprehensive and that the parties had expressly agreed that the assignment would not lapse, even if the company chose not to release the songs. This meant Section 19(4), which otherwise causes rights to revert if unused within a year, did not apply.The court also said that even if Kumar believed certain payments were pending, he could not unilaterally release the songs, “Prima facie, the copyright in the suit songs is assigned in favor of the Plaintiff (Rao & Sapru Films) and still subsists in favor of Plaintiff. It is not open for the Defendant (Alok Kumar) upon having executed a valid and legal contract to proceed by treating the agreements as rescinded unilaterally and release the suit songs on the social media platforms,” the court said.Finding that Rao & Sapru Films had made out a strong prima facie case and that releasing raw, unfinished songs had caused potential damage, the court granted interim relief. Kumar has been restrained from releasing, publishing, performing, distributing or monetising the ten songs or any other work created under the agreements. He must also remove all uploads from platforms such as YouTube and Spotify and hand over the master files, raw audio, lyrics and other related materials to the company. Case Title: Rao and Sapru Films Pvt. Ltd. v. Alok Kumar Case Number: IA-6542-2025 in Commercial IP Suit No. 618/2025For Plaintiff: Advocates Priyank Kapadia, Nitin Wadkar, Suresh Poojary instructed by Legal House For Defendant: Advoactes Faridul Haq Khan instructed by Advocate Saeed S Shaikh Click Here To Read/Download Order

Bombay High Court Bars Singer Alok Kumar From Monetising Ten Rao & Sapru Songs, Orders Takedown Of Uploaded Tracks

Ayushi Shukla

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