SONAKKA Vs. U R ANANTHA MURTHY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the interlocutory order made by the learned Civil Judge in O.S. No. 4029 of 1987 dismissing the application filed by the plaintiffs (who are appellants herein and who are hereinafter referred to as the plaintiffs) under the provisions of O.39 Rr.1 and 2 of C.P.C.(in short the Code).

(2.) Interim reliefs sought for by the plaintiffs in the suit were to restrain defendants-1, 2 and 3 from re-publishing the Kannada novel written by defendant-1 under the title "Avasthe" and to restrain defendants - 4 to 8 from exhibiting and screening the picture based on the aforesaid novel going by the name "Avasthe". It is common ground that the book was published earlier in the year 1978 and it has reached the stage of second reprint obviously because the book must have been in good demand by the lovers of Kannada Literature in this State. Defendant-1 who has written the book is a well-known litterateur and he has got to his credit some other works in Kannada language. It is also on record that his novel 'Samskara' was considered to be a 'classic' in Kannada literature and it has been translated in various foreign languages. The fact that he is a person of very high attainments is established by the fact that he is now the Vice-Chancellor of Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala State. It is also not in dispute that defendant-1 was a close friend of one late Gopala Gowda who between the years 1950 and 1970 had made a mark as a politician of unquestionable integrity and strong political convictions. He appears to have taken a very active part in the social and political life in this State and participated in a Satyagraha known as Kagodu Satyagraha' in his native village to champion the cause of tenants in Shimoga District as against the landlords who according to him were coming in the way of the betterment of the conditions of tenants. He was also a member of the then Mysore Legislative Assembly in the year 1952 and a leader of the opposition in the then Mysore Legislative Assembly. He was the President of the socialist party, Karnataka Unit between 1965 and 1967 and he became the Chairman of the All India Parliamentary Board of the Socialist Party in the year 1967. He was returned to the Mysore Legislative Assembly both in the years 1962 and 1967 from the Thirthahalli Constituency. In 1970-71 he was the President of the Karnataka Samyuktha Vidhayaka Dal which was a federation of all the opposition parties in the State. It is mentioned in the plaint that late Gopala Gowda was a well-known freedom fighter and he was the unquestioned leader of the working class in Karnataka and he was instrumental in bringing about revolutionary changes to secure ownership rights to the actual cultivators of the land; that he was a 'fire brand opposition leader who led an uncompromising life and was especially feared by the Treasury Benches in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. He was widely respected by one and all and especially those who were at the helm of affairs during his public life; that he was a firm believer in Socialist ideals and was close associate of late. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia who championed the cause of the down-trodden in this country.

(3.) According to the plaintiffs, late Gopala Gowda had led a very clean life and was an affectionate husband to the 1st plaintiff and never violated the sanctity of the matrimonial life. His life and character were above reproach both as the head of the family and also a politician and his relationship with his wife and children was not strained at any point of time. He also had a healthy and peaceful life till he suffered a paralytic stroke in about the second week of January 1972 at Victoria Hospital and passed away very soon thereafter. The 1st defendant who had admitted in the written statement that he was a close associate of late Gopala Gowda authored a novel, as noticed earlier in the year 1978 called "Avasthe" which has given rise to this dispute between the parties. In that book according to the plaintiffs, the 1st defendant had depicted this leader of the socialist movement in not very edifying terms, that he was shown as a person whose ideals were very confused, that he did have the courage of the convictions to face life as it should have been faced; that his personal life was not very clean in that he had extra-marital relationship with more than one woman other than his wife; that his treatment of his wife was not on equal terms since she was found to be intellectually incompatible to his outlook an life and his ideals and she did not even care to meet ordinary whims and requirements of her husband as she was a miser with no inclination to spend any money for him. It cannot be disputed that the novel is based on the life of late Gopala Gowda but defendant-1 has taken the contention in his written statement that the book is not a biography of late Gopala Gawda. On the material on record there is a prima facie case to show that the book is based on the life of Gopala Gowda. Certain documents produced before the Trial Court and which came into existence before the suit was filed clearly show that this book was based on the life of late Gopala Gowda. The relevant documents in this regard should be noticed at this stage since the main controversy between the parties appears to be that the novel and the subsequent motion picture based on that novel is not the biography of Gopala Gowda. In the plaint, the plaintiffs have referred to as many as 10 specific incidents where the characters mentioned in the book bear a close resemblance to the events and incidents in the life of Gopala Gowda and those of his family members. They are :-