Jurisdiction of the City Civil Court is restricted for copyright claims, and the court may exercise discretion in dismissing frivolous appeals.

Pandrang Row, J.

1. This is an appeal from the order of the City Civil Judge, Madras,, returning the plaint in O.S. No. 566 of 1932 for presentation to the proper Court The plaintiff sued for four reliefs. Two of them related to the copyright claimed by him in a certain book known as "Gopal New Tamil Reader No. 1," and so far as these reliefs were concerned the learned City Civil Judge was of opinion that he had no jurisdiction to grant these reliefs, and his view is obviously correct. "Under Section 13, Copyright Act, every suit or other civil proceeding regarding infringement of copyright shall be instituted and tried in the High Court or the Court of the District Judge. The City Civil Court does-not come under either of these categories-and it is obvious that the City Civil Court had no jurisdiction. Section 3, City Civil Court Act, which constituted the Court does not avoid the effect of a specific provision like Section 13, Copyright Act. Section 3, City Civil Court Act, gives general jurisdiction to the City Civil Court, but the Copyright Act which deals with the special subject matter of copyright clearly restricts jurisdiction to hear a suit or proceeding relating to copyright to the High Court and the, District Courts. As regards the other two reliefs: one of them is cognizable by the Presidency Court of Small Causes, being a claim for money due under a contract and therefore not within the jurisdiction of the City Civil Court.

2. The only relief left is a declaration that the plaintiff is the author of the book in question. As regards this relief the learned City Civil Judge says that the plaintiff even on his own showing is entitled toother consequential reliefs besides a bare-declaration, and that no useful purpose would be served by granting a relief of this kind to the plaintiff. I entirely agree. After all, the grant of a declaration is a matter of discretion and I think the learned City Civil Judge exercised a wise discretion in nipping a suit for a declaration of this kind in the bud instead of. wasting his own time and that of the defendants in trying a suit for a mere declaration like this. The appeal is really hopeless and I would even say frivolous. The plaintiff-appellant was definitely told to-present his plaint to the proper Court. Instead of doing that he has preferred a baseless and hopeless appeal. The appeal is dismissed with costs.