High Court relies on Mediation Process to try arrive at a mutually acceptable settlement in Ilayaraja's dispute with Studio

Music maestro Ilayaraja, who is locked in a dispute with city-based Prasad Studio over use of his usual music composition room, has been directed by the Madras HC to try & settle the issue through mediation. Ilayaraja has been composing music at a recording theatre on the Prasad Studio campus for more than 4 decades & wants to continue to do so, whereas the studio management has sought to vacate him from its premises in Saligramam.

When an original suit moved by Ilayaraja against the move came up for hearing on Tuesday, Justice V Bharathidasan directed senior counsel A R L Sundaresan, who is representing the maestro, to appear before the mediation centre on the HC premises on Dec 9 & try for an amicable solution to the dispute.

According to the director, he was in peaceful possession of the studio located inside the compound of the Prasad Digital Film Laboratories in Saligramam since 1977 by paying appropriate charges without any default.

Now, alleging that the present owners of the laboratories are trying to vacate him from the premises through illegal means, Ilaiyaraja wanted the court to restrain the owners or their agents from interfering in his peaceful possession of the studio.

Opposing the plea, studio’s counsel Abdul Saleem & S Elambharathi contended that the people cited as respondents in the suit weren't the actual owners & that only Prasad Production Private Limited was the owner of the property. It, however, hadn't been made a party to the suit at all, they said.

Therefore, Ilayaraaja is in no way associated with the company other than for the limited purpose of recording his music in the said facility whenever a film producer engaged the services offered by the company, who had hired the services of the petitioner as well, they added.

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