The Supreme Court said Friday that it would hear on December 16 an appeal challenging the Madras High Court order allowing the Madras Music Academy to present an award to musician TM Krishna in the name of the late Carnatic music maestro M S Subbulakshmi, who passed away in 2004. This came hours after the Madras High Court set aside an interim injunction barring the academy from conferring the award on Krishna. The award is scheduled to be conferred during the academy’s 98th annual conference Sunday. Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, appearing for the appellant V Shrinivasan, Subbulakshmi’s grandson, urged a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar that the matter be taken up urgently. “We can recall the award if required,” the CJI said. The injunction in question had been granted by a single judge of the Madras HC last month following a suit filed by Shrinivasan. Shrinivasan’s objection centred on his grandmother's will, which, he argued, prohibited any form of memorial in her name, including awards. The Sangita Kalanidhi M S Subbulakshmi Award, instituted jointly by the Music Academy and The Hindu in 2005, offers a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh to honour excellence in Carnatic music. In its ruling earlier Friday, a Division Bench of the Madras HC comprising Justices SS Sundar and P Dhanabal, disagreed with the single judge's interpretation that the term "memorial" in the will extended to awards. Justice Sundar observed that the term could be open to varying interpretations and noted that other beneficiaries of the will might not share Shrinivasan’s position. “The will does not specifically state that no award should be named after her,” the court said, adding that there was no clear prohibition against the use of Subbulakshmi’s name for the award. The two developments taken together means that the Music Academy can go ahead with conferring the award to Krishna, who has long been a polarising figure in Carnatic music for his outspoken views on social and political issues. Shrinivasan’s legal battle was based on certain conflicts he had with Krishna too. His suit accused Krishna of being an atheist whose “vile, vituperative, and scandalous” remarks about late Subbulakshmi disqualified him from receiving an award named after her. While Krishna has been facing criticism from some conservative quarters of the Carnatic music fraternity for challenging traditional norms and speaking out on issues of caste, religion, and gender in the field, Shrinivasan’s suit argued that Krishna’s public statements have unjustly tarnished Subbulakshmi’s legacy and that the announcement of Krishna’s award had come as a shock to the family and artists. "The statements of Krishna are downright disgraceful, unjustifiably questioning the credibility of the renowned singer at the altar of cheap politics. He would not have dared to throw such calumny on the late singer during her lifetime," his petition said. Justice G Jayachandran, the single judge who issued the earlier injunction, had said in his November ruling, “The best way to honour a departed soul is to respect her wish and not disrespect it”. He ordered that the Music Academy could confer the award on Krishna without using Subbulakshmi’s name.
