In a major setback to Carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna, the Supreme Court on Monday passed an interim order, saying he should not be recognised as a recipient of the Sangita Kalanidhi MS Subbulakshmi award.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S.V.N. Bhatti passed the order a day after the prestigious award was conferred upon Krishna by the Chennai Music Academy on Sunday.
Subbulakshmi’s grandson V.S. Srinivasan had approached the top court alleging that Krishna had made scandalous remarks against the late legendary singer. Hearing his petition, the apex court issued notice to Krishna, the music academy, The Hindu and THG Publishing Private Limited while seeking their replies within four weeks.
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"As an interim measure, as the award has already been awarded, we deem it apt to say that 4th defendant TM Krishna should not be recognised as a recipient of the MS Subbulakshmi award,” the bench said.
"The court is mindful of the respect and honour that M S Subbulakshmi commands all across music lovers spreading across all spectrums. She is one of the most distinguished singers and although she passed away in December 2004, her melodious voice continues to bring great joy to her fans," it further said.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, Srinivasan had challenged the Madras High Court’s interim order allowing the conferment of the award to Krishna. Additional solicitor general N. Venkataraman submitted it was an extraordinary matter as Krishna had written articles allegedly maligning Subbulakshmi.
On Friday, the top court had refused to grant an urgent hearing on the matter, saying it would hear the petition on December 16. When the ASG pointed out that the case would become infructuous by then, the court said, "They can always take back the award. You can recall the award if required”.
