New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday informed the
Delhi High Court that besides providing basic infrastructure,
a special officer has been appointed to take care of overall
work of the Copy Right Board following the court`s earlier
direction.
Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General
(ASG) A S Chandhioke told a Division Bench of Acting Chief
Justice Madan B Lokur and Jutice Mukta Gupta that Jagdish
Swaroop has been appointed as Special Officer in the Board and
he will work with V K Saxena, Deputy Registrar and Licensing
Officer of the Board.
"One full time stenographer and two data entry operators
and a peon were appointed and a computer with a printer has
been provided to the Board," said the ASG through a compliance
report.
In addition, the law officer said the Registrar`s office
is being shifted to Jeevan Deep building and the Directorate
of Estates was directed to provide a conference room in the
building itself for the hearing of Copy right violation cases
and the Chairman and other members of the Board.
The Bench had directed the Centre to provide within a
week the basic infrastructure to the Copy Right Board after 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 an under Secretary, functions 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" as per the report.
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 lacks other basic infrastructural facilities.
The Bench had 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
