Delhi High Court restrains rapper Bohemia from working with any music label except Saga Music

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday restrained Punjabi rapper and singer Bohemia from making music videos and songs or doing any public performance without prior written permission from Saga Music [Saga Musica Private Limited v. Roger David and Ors]..Justice Anish Dayal passed the ex parte ad interim order restraining Bohemia or anyone acting on his behalf from making any defamatory posts against Saga Music as well.The Court said that the order will remain in force till the next date of hearing on February 23..Bohemia (born Roger David) is a Pakistani-American rapper, singer and songwriter. He is a major name in the Punjabi language music and desi hip hop industry.The Court passed the order after Saga Music sued Bohemia for violation of their contract..Saga argued that Bohemia had entered into a talent engagement agreement with them in December 2019. As per the same, he agreed to work exclusively with them for 45 months.The contract stipulated that Saga will own all the intellectual property rights in Bohemia’s songs, video and performances and that he cannot collaborate or work with any other artist or label with prior written consent from saga.The Court was told that Bohemia violated the agreement and did not produce even a single song for Saga. He breached the contract by continuing with his musical tours and even released songs in collaboration with others and on his YouTube channel.It was further contended that Bohemia and people associated with him made defamatory allegations against Saga on social media due to which the company was subjected to disparagement and adverse comments..The Court reached a prima facie conclusion that a case was made out in favour of Saga and irreparable harm will be caused to the label if an interim order is not passed.It, therefore, restrained Bohemia from working with any third-party entity for making sound recordings, cinematograph films, musical works or performances without prior consent of Saga.The Court issued notices to Bohemia and other defendants and listed the matter for further consideration on February 23..Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal along with advocates Nikhil Chawla, Shivank Pratap Singh, Asavari Jain and Adityaraj Patodia appeared for Saga Music.