A K MUKHERJEE Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) . The petitioner Dr.A.K.Mukherjee filed a complaint before a Metropolitan Magistrate under Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957 alleging that M/s. Chand & Co. Ltd. had knowingly infringed the copyright in a book authored by him. During the pendency of the proceedings Dr.Mukherjee moved an application that since the Copyright Board in proceedings under section 19A of the Copyright Act, 1957 had held that the respondents were guilty of infringing the petitioner's copyright the learned Metropolitan Magistrate, being bound by the said finding, had no option but to forthwith convict the respondents. However, the application did not find favour with the learned Metropolitan Magistrate. As per him, the respondents could not beconvicted without trial and that too merely on the basis of the above-noted finding of the Copyright Board. Hence this petition.

(2.) . It was contended by the learned counsel for the petitioner that in view of the finding of the Copyright Board that the respondents had infringed the copyright of the petitioner in the book in question, it was not open to the learned Metropolitan Magistrate to proceed further with the trial and that in fact, he had no option but to convict the respondents forthwith undersection 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957. In support he placed reliance upon a judgment of the Supreme Court in M/s. Karam Chand v. Union of India AIR 1971 SC 1244 and more particularly on the following observations made therein:

(3.) . The perusal of the order of the Copyright Board would go to show that though it did, during the course of general discussion of the case, find that there was infringement of the Copyright of the petitioner in the book in question, it ultimately dismissed the petition on the ground that it was not maintainable undersection 19-A of the Copyright Act.