The Supreme Court on Monday restrained Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna from projecting himself as the recipient of an award in MS Subbulakshmi's name..A Bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti passed the order this evening, a day after the award was conferred on Krishna by the Madras Music Academy on Sunday (December 15)."We restrict TM Krishna and (direct) that he should not be recognised as a recipient of the Sangeeta Kalanidhi MS Subbulakshmi award and is also restrained from projecting himself as a recipient of the award," the Court ordered.The Court added that its interim stay order should not be viewed as a reflection on TM Krishna's ability as a singer."This interim order should not be seen as a reflection on the music academy, The Hindu or on the singing abilities of Mr. TM Krishna," it said. .MS Subbulakshmi's grandson, V Srinivasan, had earlier approached the Madras High Court in the matter to not only restrain the Academy from conferring the Sangita Kalanidhi Award on Krishna, but also from presenting any award in Subbulakshmi’s name altogether.He argued that his family did not want the award to be given to anybody because that would be “against the spirit” of Subbulakshmi’s will.He added that giving such an award to Krishna was further “questionable” since Krishna had been making “vile, vituperative, and scandalous attacks” on Subbulakshmi on social media and had been maligning the late singer’s reputation. .A single judge of the High Court had initially granted an injunction to restrain the conferment of any award in Subbulukshmi's name on Krishna. This injunction was vacated by a Division Bench of the High Court on December 13, Friday. Minutes later, an appeal by Srinivasan challenging this Division Bench verdict was mentioned before the Supreme Court. However, the top court declined to urgently hear the matter or stay the High Court Division Bench's order, paving the way for the award ceremony to take place on Sunday. .Appearing for Srinivasan before the top court today, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) N Venkataraman reiterated the late singer's family's concerns that an award in Subbulakshmi's name was being conferred on someone who has made comments against her."Award was conferred and it was greatly publicised. He (Krishna) is a person who made misogynistic comment against her," he said.Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan represented the music academy and told the Court that the award was conferred after the Division Bench of the High Court vacated the single-judge's earlier injunction order.The Court eventually noted that the case involved a sensitive issue. Addressing Krishna's counsel, the Bench observed that the vocalist could have made submissions to defuse the situation before the High Court. "Mr. Parthasarathy (counsel for Krishna), I have gone through articles. This is a very sensitive and important issue. You could have explained your stand before the High Court. You did not clarify and then you added fuel to fire and said that she is a barbie doll etc.," the Court observed. Representing Krishna, advocate Suhrith Parthasarathy replied,"I did not describe her as a 'greatest hoax' (as alleged). I said many called her that and the article wanted to burst that myth."Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, meanwhile, urged the Bench not to pass a stay order."Status quo ante is not needed. High Court has passed an order. Suddenly a grandchild cannot come and say all of this," he said. The Court proceeded to pass an interim order to restrain the projection of Krishna as the recipient of the award in Subbulakshmi's name for now. The Court also commented on the legacy left behind by Subbulakshmi, while briefly alluding to her family's opposition to Krishna receiving an award named after her memory. "She is one of the most distinguished singers who passed away in 2004 but her melodious voice lives on. It brings joy to all her fans. While write ups and comments made by (TM Krishna) in describing the singer are his way of paying respects, plaintiff (Srinivas) feels that words used by (Krishna) are not in good taste," the Court noted. .The matter will be heard next after six weeks. .[Read Live Coverage]
The Supreme Court on Monday restrained Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna from projecting himself as the recipient of an award in MS Subbulakshmi's name..A Bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti passed the order this evening, a day after the award was conferred on Krishna by the Madras Music Academy on Sunday (December 15)."We restrict TM Krishna and (direct) that he should not be recognised as a recipient of the Sangeeta Kalanidhi MS Subbulakshmi award and is also restrained from projecting himself as a recipient of the award," the Court ordered.The Court added that its interim stay order should not be viewed as a reflection on TM Krishna's ability as a singer."This interim order should not be seen as a reflection on the music academy, The Hindu or on the singing abilities of Mr. TM Krishna," it said. .MS Subbulakshmi's grandson, V Srinivasan, had earlier approached the Madras High Court in the matter to not only restrain the Academy from conferring the Sangita Kalanidhi Award on Krishna, but also from presenting any award in Subbulakshmi’s name altogether.He argued that his family did not want the award to be given to anybody because that would be “against the spirit” of Subbulakshmi’s will.He added that giving such an award to Krishna was further “questionable” since Krishna had been making “vile, vituperative, and scandalous attacks” on Subbulakshmi on social media and had been maligning the late singer’s reputation. .A single judge of the High Court had initially granted an injunction to restrain the conferment of any award in Subbulukshmi's name on Krishna. This injunction was vacated by a Division Bench of the High Court on December 13, Friday. Minutes later, an appeal by Srinivasan challenging this Division Bench verdict was mentioned before the Supreme Court. However, the top court declined to urgently hear the matter or stay the High Court Division Bench's order, paving the way for the award ceremony to take place on Sunday. .Appearing for Srinivasan before the top court today, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) N Venkataraman reiterated the late singer's family's concerns that an award in Subbulakshmi's name was being conferred on someone who has made comments against her."Award was conferred and it was greatly publicised. He (Krishna) is a person who made misogynistic comment against her," he said.Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan represented the music academy and told the Court that the award was conferred after the Division Bench of the High Court vacated the single-judge's earlier injunction order.The Court eventually noted that the case involved a sensitive issue. Addressing Krishna's counsel, the Bench observed that the vocalist could have made submissions to defuse the situation before the High Court. "Mr. Parthasarathy (counsel for Krishna), I have gone through articles. This is a very sensitive and important issue. You could have explained your stand before the High Court. You did not clarify and then you added fuel to fire and said that she is a barbie doll etc.," the Court observed. Representing Krishna, advocate Suhrith Parthasarathy replied,"I did not describe her as a 'greatest hoax' (as alleged). I said many called her that and the article wanted to burst that myth."Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, meanwhile, urged the Bench not to pass a stay order."Status quo ante is not needed. High Court has passed an order. Suddenly a grandchild cannot come and say all of this," he said. The Court proceeded to pass an interim order to restrain the projection of Krishna as the recipient of the award in Subbulakshmi's name for now. The Court also commented on the legacy left behind by Subbulakshmi, while briefly alluding to her family's opposition to Krishna receiving an award named after her memory. "She is one of the most distinguished singers who passed away in 2004 but her melodious voice lives on. It brings joy to all her fans. While write ups and comments made by (TM Krishna) in describing the singer are his way of paying respects, plaintiff (Srinivas) feels that words used by (Krishna) are not in good taste," the Court noted. .The matter will be heard next after six weeks. .[Read Live Coverage]
