New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday
directed the Centre to provide within a week the basic
infrastructure to the Copy Right Board which does not even
have any office building or court to function.
A Division Bench of acting Chief Justice Madan B Lokur
and Justice Mukta Gupta passed the order following a report
filed by counsel Pratibha Maninder Singh, amicus curiae
appointed by the court, that there is no chamber for the
Chairman and the Board members when the sittings were held.
The sittings of the Board have been held in the Indian
Law Institute(ILI) temporarily and the Board is completely
dependent on the availability of a hall or room in the ILI
premises, said the report.
The Licensing Officer in the Copy Right Office, who is in
the scale of under Secretary, function as a part-time
Secretary to the Copy Board, according to the report.
"There is no secretarial staff available for the Copy
Right Board. In fact, the Board borrows a peon from the Copy
Right Office on part-time basis. There is no personal
assistant or stenographer as such with the Board. One
part-time clerk of the office is being shared by Board`s three
officers.
The amicus curiae recommended urgent appointment of two
peons who would assist transportation and maintenance of the
case files.
In addition, at least two full time stenographers were
required and a permanent court room for the hearing of cases
is required, the lawyer also suggested.
On April 7, the Bench took suo motu cognizance after it
came to its notice that the Board is not functioning in a
systematic manner as it does not have a permanent office room
and also due to lack of basic infrastructure to function.
The Bench appointed Singh as amicus curiae and directed
her to file a detailed report about the condition of the
officer after visiting the Copy Right Board.
PTI
