Supreme Court Holds Criminal Proceedings for Copyright Infringement Must Be Quashed Where No Prima Facie Similarity or Material Exists

Held: The Supreme Court held that criminal proceedings for copyright infringement cannot be sustained in the absence of any prima facie material demonstrating similarity between the works in question, and that a summoning order passed without application of mind or consideration of relevant material amounts to abuse of process warranting quashing under Section 482 CrPC.

Summary: The case arose from a complaint alleging that the appellant, a film director, had infringed the complainant’s copyright by using his script in the film “Kahaani-2”. The complainant asserted that he had shared his script with the appellant, which was later used without permission. However, prior to the summoning order, the Screen Writers Association’s expert committee had examined both works and found no similarity. Despite this, the Magistrate issued summons based on vague allegations, which was upheld by the High Court. The Supreme Court examined the complaint, witness statements, and surrounding circumstances and found that there were only bald assertions without any identification of copied portions or substantive similarity. It further noted suppression of material facts by the complainant and observed that the appellant’s script was registered prior to the complainant’s work, negating the possibility of infringement. The Court reiterated that summoning an accused is a serious matter requiring judicial application of mind, and that courts must look beyond mere allegations when proceedings appear frivolous or malicious.

Decision: The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, quashed the summoning order dated 07.06.2018 and the High Court’s order, and set aside the entire criminal proceedings pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, holding them to be frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of process of law.