JUDGMENT :

G. NARENDAR, J.

1. The appellants have assailed the order passed by LXXXV Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Commercial Division, Bangalore (CCH-86), on I.A. Nos. I to VI in Commercial Original Suit No. 1594/2022 dated 07.11.2022 wherein the trial Court issued a direction to respondent No. 2 (defendant No. 4) to remove and take down the links from it’s platform and to block the social media handle of Indian National congress [@ INC India] and Bharat Jodo Yatra [@ Bharat Jodo] on Twitter, on the ground of Appellants having infringed the copyright of the 1st Respondent/Plaintiff.

2. The appellant herein is the defendant No. 2 before trial court and the respondent No. 1 is plaintiff. The other respondent Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 are also defendants before trial court.

3. The plaintiff instituted a suit before the trial court with a prayer to grant a relief of permanent injunction and also mandatory injunction. The plaint pleadings in brief are that, the plaintiff is a registered partnership firm engaged in production, marketing, distribution and sale of sound recordings and cinematography, sale of audio, CD, DVD, purchase of Audios and Videos and Film Digital rights therein. That it is a reputed entity in the sound and music industry. The plaintiff operates its business by use of its trademark “MRT MUSIC.” The repository of the plaintiff consists of more than 20,000 songs which the plaintiff owns and control and not limited to copyright. The plaintiff has acquired all the rights of sound recordings of the Block Buster film KGF-Chapter-2. Thereafter, the plaintiff has released the same through various channels and pen drives.

4. It is alleged by the plaintiff that there is a copyright infringement by the defendant nos. 1 to 3. It is pleaded that during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, an initiative of the Indian National Congress, certain video recording of the Yatra and also the leader of the Yatra were shared by the first defendant’s Twitter Handle as well as the Bharat Jodo Twitter Handle. Each video twitter was posted with a background music. That in two videos, the background music is alleged to be similar to the sound track of the movie titled as KGF Chapter-2. It is alleged by the plaintiff that Indian National Congress social media Handle has used the alleged sound track in two videos and uploaded it to the Indian National Congress Twitter Handle and circulated the said video in an alleged fraudulent manner in order to make a wrongful gain. It is alleged by the plaintiff that the defendants are profiteering and their gains is causing unlawful, unjust and irreparable loss to the plaintiff. The use of copyright work without authorisation and consent is willful and dishonest. Hence, the suit praying and seeking for injunction against infringement of it’s copyright.

5. Alongwith the said suit, plaintiff had filed I.A. No. 1 to 6 which are heard by the Commercial Court and the Commercial Court passed an ex-parte order which is under challenge now.

6. I.A. No. 3 is filed under Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 r/w 79 of the IT Act with a prayer restraining the defendants 1 to 3 and 5 from infringing or illegally using, the copyrighted work owned by the plaintiff and from illegally using the said work owned by the plaintiff. I.A No. 4 is for direction to defendant No 4 to remove and take down the links from its platform and I.A. No. 5 is with prayer to suspend the social media handle till submission of report. I.A. No. 6 is for an order to appoint a Court Commissioner/technical expert, to inspect and conduct an electronic audit of the said twitter-handle, controlled by defendant No. 1 to 3. The trial court heard and proceeded to grant an ad-interim temporary and mandatory injunction, ex-parte, which is under challenge before this Court.

7. Heard learned Senior counsel Sri. Abhishek Manu Singhvi along with senior counsels Sri. Udaya Holla and Sri. A.S. Ponnanna representing Smt. Leela P. learned counsel for the appellants and learned Senior counsel