OM PRAKASH GARG Vs. HANS RAJ SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of Civil Revision Petitions Nos. 346 and 553 of 1971. Both of these petitions are directed against an identical order passed by the trial court on the 8th of December, 1970.

(2.) The suits being Nos. 16 and 31 of 1958 were instituted by Shri Hans Raj Sharma impugning the publication by the defendants, which constituted the infringement of the copy-right acquired by him in respect of a book which he had later on published under the name of "New Course Sharma Guide to Complete English", in the plaint the plaintiff detailed the circumstances disclosing the alleged infringement. Similar Preliminary decrees were passed in both the suits. The ultimate part of these preliminary decrees with which the impugned order became concerned is ;- "Furthermore a decree for accounts relating to printing and publishing and sales of the 8th special abridged edition of the Sharma Guide to General English and its reprints and for recovery of the amount received by defendants 1 and 2 by the sale of the said work and also for accounts relating to the printing, publishing and selling of the unbridged edition of Sharma Guide, vig. New Course Sharma Guide to Complete English, and for recovery of the amount received by defendants Nos. 1 and 4 by the sale thereof is granted in favour of the plaintiff." It may be noticed that suit No. 31 was concerned with a different book. The trial court appointed Shri Roshan Lal Tandon, Advocate, as the commissioner, who was to go into the accounts and submit a report showing the result of the rendition of accounts before him. The trial court was to consider the report, hear the parties and pass a final decree in accordance with the preliminary decree.

(3.) Appeals were preferred against the preliminary decrees but the same were dismissed by the High Court.