JUDGMENT

CHINNAPPA REDDY, J. :— Nepal is our neighbour. Unfortunately Nepal is land-locked. Nepals only access to the sea is across India. So, as one good neighbour to another with a view to maintain, develop and strengthen the friendly relations, between our two countries, by treaty and by International Convention, we allow a right of innocent passage in order to facilitate Nepals international trade. One of the questions before us is the extent of this right : Does the right cover the transit of goods which may not be imported into India? May goods which may not be brought into India be taken across Indian territory? What does "import" mean more particularly what does "import" mean in Section 53 of the Copyright Act? Can an unauthorised reproduction of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a record embodying an unauthorised recording of a record (which, for short, adopting trade parlance, we may call a pirated work), whose importation into India may be prohibited, but whose importation into Nepal is not prohibited, be taken across Indian territory to Nepal? These are some of the questions which arise for consideration in this appeal.

2. The questions have arisen this w