DR.D.Y.CHANDRACHUD, J

The appeal arises out of an order of a Learned Single Judge by which a motion for interim relief in a suit based on infringement of copyright was made absolute. Parties will be referred to by their appellations in the Plaint.

2. The action by the Plaintiff is founded on an alleged infringement of its copyright in artistic work. The artistic work in the present case consists of Industrial Drawings. The Plaintiff sought protection in respect of 126 drawings which have been referred to in Exhibit ‘G’ to the Plaint.

3. The First Defendant is a Limited Company controlled by the Kanade family. The Second Defendant is a partnership firm of which Defendant Nos.8, 10 and 11 are partners. Defendant Nos.4 to 7 are former employees of the Plaintiff. Defendant Nos.13 to 23 are fabricators, who had, in the past, made parts for the Plaintiff which were used for manufacturing electroforged grating machines. The case of the Plaintiff is that Defendant Nos.4 to7 resigned from the service of the Plaintiff. Of them, Defendant Nos.5 to 7 joined service with the First Defendant. On a police complaint being lodged, in the course of the investigation, the drawings of the Plaintiff were found in the custody of the First Defendant and with some amongst the fabricators, Defendant Nos.13 to 23. According to the Plaintiff, these drawings were furnished to them by the Plaintiff’s employees.

4. A Notice of Motion was taken out for interim orders in the suit. By an order dated 26 June 2008, a Learned Single Judge of this Court found prima facie merit in the contention of the Plaintiff. An order of injunction was passed restraining the Defendants from using the Plaintiff’s drawings mentioned in Exhibit ‘G’ to the Plaint and thereby infringing the copyright of the Plaintiff or making any three dimensional objects of machine parts which would be a reproduction of the Plaintiff’s drawings.

5. A fresh motion for interim relief was taken out by the Plaintiff. The foundation for the fresh motion is that the First Defendant had, despite the order of injunction, not only continued to infringe the Plaintiff’s copyright in the original artistic drawings by making infringing copies, but also made three dimensional copies, electroforged gratings machines and was marketing and selling electroforged grating made in complete violation of the Plaintiff’s right in the original artistic work. These acts of infringement were alleged to have been committed in collusion with Defendant No.24. Defendant No.24 is a Limited Company. All the shares of the Company are held by Defendant Nos.8 to12, the son of Defendant No.8 and by the wife of Defendant No.10. The case of the Plaintiff in the affidavit in support was that the First Defendant, through Defendant No.24, has started marketing and selling the electroforged gratings manufactured by the use of electroforged grating machines which was an infringement of the Plaintiff’s original artistic work in the drawings. The Plaintiff averred that Defendant No.24 has been awarded six contracts of the value of Rs.4.7 crores by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. Essentially, in the fresh motion three reliefs were sought by the Plaintiff – (i) Action under Order 39 Rule 2A for breach of the order of injunction; (ii) The striking out of the defence of the Defendants; and (iii) The appointment of a Receiver of electroforged grating machines manufactured from parts based on the drawings of the Plaintiff.

6. Defendant No.24 filed an affidavit in response to the Notice of Motion on 9 June 2009. In the affidavit, it was stated that the brochures which are relied upon by the Plaintiff pertain to a machine which was imported by the Defendant from a South African supplier against an order placed on 15 January 2008. Defendant No.24 stated that the Company had commissioned the electroforged machine imported from the South African supplier and “has been conducting its business from the said machine”. What Defendant No.24 did not d