AMARNATH BIHARI Vs. UMA SHANKER BAHADUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a reference under Section 438, Criminal P. C., made by Mr. S. N. Imam, Sessions Judge, Patna, for quashing the charges framed against the accused under Sections 427 and 489 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) The complaint in the case was filed by the opposite party Uma Shankar Bahadur. He claimed that he is one of the authors along with Sri Prafulla Chandra Ojha "Mukta", who is the other author, of the two books named (1) "Admi ki Jeet. Part I" and (2) "Apne Desh Ki Kahaniya, Part I and II". His case was that on 2-9-1949, an agreement was arrived at between him on the one part and Messrs. Better Books Co., Patna, on the other part of which, Sri Amarnath Bihari is a partner and by that agreement he assigned the copyright of the said works to Messrs. Better Books Company. This agreement shows that the author had compiled these two books along with some others at the instance of the publishers Messrs. Better Books Company on condition that the publishers would pay to the author for the works done by him at the rate of Re. 1/- per printed page excluding the covers and contents pages and that the copyrights of the works would be the property of the publishers. It was further stipulated therein that the publishers would be free to get those works revised, enlarged or improved by anyone they desired but at their own expense.

(3.) It is said in the petition of complaint that in accordance with the agreement dated 2-9-1949 the publishers Messrs. Better Books Company began to publish the copies of the said works with the complainant's name as their author along with the name of Sri Prafulla Chandra Ojha "Mukta" as the co-author. This continued up to the seventh edition of the book "Admi ki Jeet, Part I" and the first reprint of "Apne Desh ki Kahaniya, Part I and II". Thereafter it is alleged that in the eighth edition of the book "Admi ki Jeet Part I" and from the second reprint of "Apne Desh ki Kahaniya, Part I and IF the petitioner, who, as already stated, is the partner of the publishers Messrs Better Books Company, fraudulently and dishonestly removed the author's name from them, that is, the name of the complainant, and that ot Sri Prafulla Chandra Ojha "Mukta". The grievance of the complainant author is that he entrusted the books and their copyrights to the petitioner accused on- the understanding given by the latter that the petitioner accused would never tamper with the books or their copyrights and that their copyrights would return to the complainant after the period prescribed by law. But contrary to this the accused petitioner removed the complainant's name as author from the books aforesaid with a view to prejudice the reputation of the complainant and also ultimately to deprive his reversionary right in the copyrights of the books.