SC restrains TM Krishna from projecting himself as recipient of MS Subbulakshmi Award

In an embarrassment to carnatic vocalist TM Krishna, the Supreme Court on Monday said he should not be recognised as the recipient of the Sangita Kalanidhi MS Subbulakshmi Award.

In an interim order, a Bench led by Justice Hrishikesh Roy said Krishna should not be recognised as the recipient of the Sangita Kalanidhi MS Subbulakshmi Award given to him by the Music Academy, Chennai, on Sunday.

"As the award has already been given... we deem it appropriate to say Defendant No 4 (TM Krishna) should not be recognised as a recipient of the Sangita Kalanidhi MS Subbulakshmi Award...and is also restrained from projecting himself as a recipient..." said the Bench – which also included Justice SVN Bhatti.

The order came on a petition filed by Subbulakshmi's grandson V Srinivasan, who alleged Krishna made scandalous remarks against the late singer. Subbulakshmi died in December 2004.

"The court is mindful of the respect and honour that MS 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," the Bench noted.

Srinivasan has challenged an order of the Madras High Court that set aside an interim injunction restraining the Chennai-based music academy from conferring the award on Krishna.

The top court issued notice to Krishna, the music academy, The Hindu and THG Publishing Private Limited asking them to respond to Srinivasan’s plea in four weeks.

On behalf of the petitioner, senior counsel N Venkataraman submitted that it was an extraordinary matter as Krishna wrote articles allegedly maligning Subbulakshmi.

Alleging that Krishna made several "nauseating" and "misogynistic" comments against Subbulakshmi, he wondered if it was appropriate to grant the award in her name to such a person. It’s like giving an award in the name of Mahatma Gandhi to a person who insults him, he said, alleging that Krishna called Subbulakshmi "the greatest hoax of the twentieth century", "diva", "saintly Barbie doll", etc, in the articles written in 'The Caravan' and 'The Wire'.

However, describing Krishna as "the greatest fan of Subbulakshmi", senior counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan denied all charges and said his remarks were taken out of context. He contended that Krishna’s comments were only meant to challenge the "hagiographic myth" surrounding the icon.

On behalf of the music academy, senior counsel CS Vaidyanathan submitted that the petition had become pointless since the award had already been conferred. But the court chose to pass an interim order restraining Krishna from projecting himself as a recipient of the award.