JOSHY Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Crime 100 of 1985 of the Ernakulam Town North Police Station was registered against four accused for offences punishable under Sections 420 and 471 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 63 and 65 of the Copyright Act on the basis of the statement made by one Satheesh Sathyan, Public Relations Manager and power-of-attorney holder, Tharangini Records, Trivandrum.

(2.) Tharangini records claims to be the exclusive producers and distributors of cassettes recorded from the original plates manufactured in the Tharangini records. It is alleged that the accused are reproducing without permission certain cassettes for which Tharangini records is having absolute copyright. In the course of investigation the police searched the premises where the petitioner is running the 'Swathi recording unit' and seized certain articles including equipments purported to have been used for making the infringed copies of records. They are kept in police custody itself as directed by the Magistrate. The case is even now pending investigation.

(3.) The de facto complainant Satheesh Sathyan filed Cri. M. P. 1302 of 1985, One Sebastian John filed Cri. M. P. 1301 of 1985 and the revision petitioner filed Cri. M. P. 1371 of 1985, all before the magistrate under Section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for getting interim custody of the articles. Accepting the argument of the Asst. Public Prosecutor that the articles are case properties which require to be used at the trial for proving the allegations, the Magistrate rejected all the three petitions. Revision is against that order.