MANMOHAN SINGH, J.

1. The plaintiff has filed a suit for declaration and permanent injunction.

2. The plaintiff is, inter alia, engaged in the business of running, operating and maintaining 20 FM Radio Broadcasting stations at the following places in India i.e. Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur, Jaipur, Surat, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Sangli, Vishakhapatnam, Coimbatore, Akola, Solapur, Vadodara and Nanded. The plaintiff is seeking a decree of declaration that the Cancellation Notice dated 21st June, 2013 sent by the defendant No. 2 which was as per the plaintiff received on 24th June, 2013 (the first working day of receipt of the notice as the office of the plaintiff company was closed on 22nd June, 2013 being a Saturday) whereby defendant No. 2 had cancelled 20 Compulsory Licenses for Radio Broadcasting all dated 3rd September, 2010 issued in favour of the plaintiff pursuant to the order dated 25th August, 2010 of Copyright Board is null and void. The plaintiff also seeks a decree of permanent injunction restraining the defendants from in any manner acting upon the cancellation notice dated 21st June, 2013 and for permanent injunction restraining the defendant No.2 from invoking and encashing the bank guarantees issued by the plaintiff in compliance with the order dated 25th August, 2010 passed by the Copyright Board.

3. The defendant No. 1 Bank has been arrayed in the suit, as it has furnished the bank guarantees on the request of the plaintiff in favour of the defendant No. 2 i.e. Phonographic Performances Limited (hereinafter referred to as "PPL" or the "defendant No. 2"). Defendant No.2 is a copyright society registered under Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’) and is engaged in carrying on the copyright business of its members in sound recordings who administers the sound recordings of its members and further claims to charge and collect license fees from the said users of sound recordings.

4. It is alleged in the plaint that the impugned Cancellation Notice interferes with due course of judicial proceedings pending in the High Court of Madras and High Court of Judicature at Bombay and also obstructs the administration of justice as the defendant No. 2 has no power or locus under the Copyright Act, 1957 read with the Copyright Rules, 2013 to cancel the compulsory licenses granted by the Copyright Board.

5. The suit along with interim application was listed before the Court on 18th November, 2013 when summon and notice were issued. The interim order was also passed against the defendant No.2 staying the operation of cancellation notice dated 21st June, 2013 while passing the detailed order.

6. The said order was challenged by the defendants in an appeal being FAO (OS) 561/2013 before the Division Bench, wherein the major issue of territorial jurisdiction of this Court was raised. The Division Bench observed that as the question of territorial jurisdiction is yet to be decided by the Single Judge, the Division Bench did not make any comments thereon and directed the parties to await the final decision on the subject by the Single Judge when the matter is taken up.

7. Both the parties have made their submissions on merit as well as on the question of territorial jurisdiction as the objection taken by the defendants. They agree that if the issue of territorial jurisdiction is decided against the plaintiff and in favour of defendant No.2, then there is no need to go into the merit of the case.

8. It is necessary to refer the brief facts as mentioned in the plaint; the same are stated as under:-

(a) In or about October, 1999, the Government of India opened FM Radio Broadcasting, to private parties and issued tender documents to interested parties under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. The objective of the privatization of the FM Radio Broadcasting sector was to affect a rapid increase in the broadcast network within the country.

(b) The