"Verdict Reserved by Karnataka High Court in Plea Seeking Quashing of FIR Against Rahul Gandhi and Congress Leaders in KGF Copyright Infringement Case"
The Karnataka High Court has reserved its verdict on Friday regarding a petition that seeks to quash the criminal case filed against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and Supriya Shrinate. The case revolves around allegations of copyright infringement, accusing the Congress leaders of unauthorized use of music from the movie KGF Chapter 2 during the Bharat Jodo Yatra campaign.
During the hearing, Justice M Nagaprasanna listened to arguments from both parties and announced that the interim protection granted to Gandhi and others in December will remain in effect until the case is concluded. Senior Advocate Vikram Huilgol, representing the Congress leaders, argued that the accused must knowingly infringe a copyright for an offense to be established under Section 63 of the Copyright Act. It was further emphasized that there was no intent to infringe the copyright and no monetization of the copyrighted content occurred.
On the other hand, Senior Advocate S Sriranga, representing the complainant MRT Music, contended that even without monetary gain, the petitioners gained popularity through their actions. He also highlighted the alleged tampering with the source code by the petitioners, forming the basis for the infringement claims.
The complaint by MRT Music asserts that the video created for the Bharat Jodo Yatra was intended for widespread circulation on social media platforms, and it featured popular sound recordings owned by the complainant. It is claimed that the accused fraudulently used the recordings with the intention of wrongful gain.
Previously, MRT Music had filed a copyright infringement suit and a criminal complaint, leading to the registration of an FIR. An Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge in Bengaluru had issued an order on November 7, directing an electronic audit of the Congress party website and the preservation of infringing materials found on their social media. The judge also granted an injunction in favor of MRT. The Congress party challenged this order before the High Court, which subsequently set it aside and instructed the removal of the offending content from the party's social media accounts.
TAGS: Karnataka High Court verdict reserved plea quash FIR Rahul Gandhi Congress leaders KGF copyright infringement case unauthorized use music Bharat Jodo Yatra Jairam Ramesh Supriya Shrinate Justice M Nagaprasanna interim protection Senior Advocate Vikram Huilgol Section 63 Copyright Act intent monetization Senior Advocate S Sriranga complainant MRT Music source code infringement alleged video mass circulation social media platforms fraudulent use wrongful gains copyright infringement suit criminal complaint first information report (FIR) Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge Bengaluru electronic audit injunction Congress party social media accounts Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram.
