Valmiki J. Mehta, J.

I.A. No.26118/2015 (exemption)

1. Exemption allowed subject to just exceptions.

I.A. stands disposed of.

2. I must begin this judgment with the statement that it is unfortunate that certain plaintiffs, and if I may say so certain lawyers also, in spite of obvious legal positions and also obvious legal propositions, such litigants/plaintiffs as also their lawyers insist on taking chances by filing the suits which are in violation of the mandatory provisions of law stated in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) pertaining to joinder of parties and causes of action. The reason for stating this preliminary statement is because plaintiffs in this suit allege violation of copyrights of its softwares by a total of five defendants-companies in the suit but each of the five defendants-companies are independently alleged to be violating copyrights of softwares of the plaintiffs without violation by one defendant-company being related to violation by the other. Putting it in other words, it is not that one main defendant is violating the copyrights of the softwares of the plaintiffs and other defendants are claiming only through that one main defendant. Each defendant which is alleged to be violating the software copyrights of the plaintiffs is a different company and hence a completely different entity than the other defendants-companies-entities. I would also like to bring on record that a similar situation, albeit which deals with the issue of misjoinder of the plaintiffs and not the defendants, arose in a suit filed by the same plaintiffs and through the same lawyers and which was CS(OS) No.3399/2015 titled as Microsoft Corporation & Ors Vs. Sandesh Properties Pvt. Ltd & Ors. This suit CS(OS) No.3399/2015 was argued in detail before this Court on 1.12.2015 and finding issues existing of misjoinder of parties-plaintiffs as each plaintiff owned separate softwares, and hence also misjoinder of causes of action qua such plaintiffs, the suit was prayed to be withdrawn. This prayer was allowed for suit to be withdrawn with liberty to file separate suits by each separate plaintiff including for the reason that if there is joinder of causes of action, then in such cases, as per Section 17 of the Court-fees Act 1870, separate Court fee is payable qua each cause of action for each plaintiff and which was not done in the suit which was allowed to be withdrawn.

3. At this stage, let me reproduce the memo of parties in the present suit and which is as under:-

“MEMO OF PARTIES

Microsoft Corporation

925 Fourth Avenue,

Suite No.2900, Seattle,

Washington 98104 – 1158

Unites State of America …..Plaintiff No.1

Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited,

807, New Delhi House,

Barakhamba Road,

New Delhi-110 001 ….Plaintiff No.2

Versus

Mr. Sujan Kumar,

Plot No.379, Road No.10,

Jubilee Hills,

Hyderabad-500 033 …Defendant No.1

M/s. Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited,

48-9-17, Dwarkanagar,

Visakhapatnam-530 016

Also at

Plot No.379, Road No.10,

Jubilee Hills,

Hyderabad- 500 033

Also at

P.O. Bag No.1, Muthukur,

Dist. Nellore-524 344,

Andhra Pradesh

Also at

M-3, 3rd Floor,

Hauz Khas,

Sri Aurobindo Marg,

New Delhi-110 016 …Defendant No.2

M/s. Navayuga Engineering Company Limited

48-9-17, Dwarkanagar,

Visakhapatnam-530 016

Also at

Plot No.379, Road No.10,

Jubilee Hills,

Hyderabad-500 033

Also at

M-3, Haus Khas, 3rd Floor,

Sri Aurobindo Marg,

New Delhi-110 016 ….Defendant No.3

M/s. Navayuga Infotech Pvt. Limited

Plot No.1268, B R House,

Above ICICI Bank, Road Number 36,

Jubilee Hills,

Hyderabad-500 033 (Andhra Pradesh) …. Defendant No.4

M/s. Navayuga Spatial Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Plot No.379, Road No.10,

Jubilee Hills,

Hyderabad-500 033

Also at

M-3, 3rd Floor

Hauz Khas

New Delhi-110016 ….Defendant No.5

M/s Digitrans Private Ltd.,

Units: 401, 402 & 302,

Trendset Pylamani Complex,

#8-3-191/18/1A,

VengalRao Nagar,

Hyderabad-500 038 …..Defendant No.6”

4. A reading of the aforesaid memo of parties shows that defendant nos.2 to 6 are completely separate companies and thus separate legal entities. In