Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) India has filed a commercial intellectual property suit against Netflix India, Kapil Sharma, and the producers of "The Great Indian Kapil Show," alleging copyright infringement for unauthorized use of songs in the show's third season. The lawsuit, lodged in the Bombay High Court on December 12, 2025, accuses the show of using three popular Bollywood songs without obtaining the necessary licenses.

PPL India, the country's oldest copyright licensing organization, claims that the unauthorized use of these songs constitutes "public performance/communication to the public" under the Copyright Act, 1957, requiring a license from the rights holder. The organization argues that neither the producers of the show, K9 Films Pvt Ltd and BeingU Studios Pvt Ltd, nor Netflix India sought permission to use the music.

The specific episodes in question aired between June and September 2025 and feature the following songs:

• The eleventh episode, featuring Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor, allegedly used "M Bole To" from Munna Bhai MBBS (2003).
• The twelfth episode, with Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty as guests, reportedly included "Rama Re" from Kaante (2002).
• The season finale, featuring Akshay Kumar, is accused of using "Subha Hone Na De" from Desi Boyz (2011).

PPL India emphasizes that the show is recorded in front of a live audience, where the music is audibly performed, and then streamed on Netflix, which they say compounds the alleged infringement.

Prior to filing the suit, PPL India issued a cease-and-desist notice to the show's producers on November 6, 2025, but claims they only received a "holding reply" with no subsequent action taken to cease the unauthorized use of the sound recordings.

In its plea to the Bombay High Court, PPL India has requested that the court prevent the show's producers from using its copyrighted sound recordings without a valid license. The organization is also seeking an order for the disclosure of any revenue generated from the alleged unauthorized use of the songs and is asking the court to appoint a receiver to seize the infringing material.

The case comes at a sensitive time for Kapil Sharma and the show's makers, as the fourth season has recently begun streaming on Netflix. The matter is expected to be heard by the Bombay High Court's commercial division soon. As of now, there have been no comments from representatives for Kapil Sharma, Netflix, or the production companies. "The Great Indian Kapil Show" was officially launched on March 30, 2024, and has aired 41 episodes so far.