Case Against Indian Ocean Band Members By Co-Founder Over Alleged Unpaid Royalties

Susmit Sen, co-founder of Indian Ocean, has filed a police complaint against former bandmates Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam over unpaid royalties, which the duo has dismissed as an arm-twisting tactic for "illegal and unwarranted demands".

Mr Sen has filed the complaint along with Sunita Chakravarty, wife of Ashim Chakravarty, with whom he had formed the band in 1990.

Ashim Chakravarty died in 2009 following complications from a cardiac arrest, while Mr Sen left Indian Ocean in 2013 and started his own band called Susmit Sen Chronicles.

Kandisa Music Productions Pvt Ltd, the company that runs the Indian Ocean band, is also listed as an accused in the police complaint, which Mr Sen lodged at Mukherjee Nagar police station in New Delhi on August 16. An FIR is yet to be registered in the case.

The charges, made under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), include criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, misappropriation, falsification of accounts, fraud against the Registrar of Companies (RoC) and authorities, among others.

"After forming the band, I was there with them for 23 and a half years... There was so much trust. And when it breaks, it's a very painful procedure. It is quite heartbreaking when your close friends, partners and colleagues behave like this," Mr Sen told PTI.

Mr Sen claimed that he has not received royalties or payments from the Indian Ocean since 2020, and Sunita Chakravarty has not been paid since 2021. The complainants have alleged that they have been denied royalty payments amounting to over Rs 50 lakh each, based on calculations made two years ago.

After Mr Sen's complaint became public, Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam released a statement on Saturday and said they are surprised at the police case as the matter is already a pending matter in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

"We are saddened to learn from the media that a police complaint has been filed against us by Mr Susmit Sen (Former member of Indian Ocean) and Ms Sunita Chakravorty (Spouse of former Indian Ocean member Asheem Chakravorty). We have not seen a copy of the complaint as yet and thus cannot address it on it's merits," they said.

Mr Sen said Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam have not yet reached out to him to resolve the matter.

"There is another case that we filed in NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) in March 2023. At that point of time, the court had also asked them to resolve this matter amicably within themselves. But they did not reach out," Mr Sen said.

He claimed the band members told them during the COVID-19 pandemic that they were not able to pay the royalties due to lack of work.

"So we asked for a balance sheet, which we rightfully can ask. And when we saw the balance sheet, they had done the business of Rs 1.5 crore. And since then, they have done a lot of work. So, now what is the amount, nobody knows. They are not disclosing it," he alleged.

Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam have questioned the timing of the criminal complaint and called it an attempt to pressure them into settling the pending civil dispute.

"There is a pending matter in the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) between the share holders for more than a year. That case is still in process, and thus everything therein is sub-judice. It is thus quite a surprise to us that a police complaint has been filed with what appears to be the same issue considered by NCLT.

"Filing of a criminal complaint on what is evidently a civil law issue seems to be an afterthought and to arm twist us to agree to their illegal and unwarranted demands," they said.

The duo further said that they will cooperate fully with the police in "any enquiry they choose to carry out".

"We are quite aware that the complaints are essentially frivolous and malafide and completely confident about the legality of all procedures carried out by us," Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam said.

As one of the most popular bands in the country, Indian Ocean is known for its unique blend of rock music with Indian classical, folk, and jazz influences, creating a sound that is distinctly their own.

Their debut album, "Indian Ocean" was released in 1993, followed by "Kandisa" in 2000.

Mr Sen and Sunita Chakravarty, along with Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam, are the four equal shareholders of Kandisa Music Productions Pvt Ltd, which owns the band. The company was formed in 2004 in New Delhi. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)