The Delhi High Court ruled on Friday that live broadcasting of Gurbani from the Guru Granth Sahib Ji at the Golden Temple does not constitute copyright infringement if there is no commercial intent. This decision comes as the court declined to impose an immediate ban on a private channel’s live telecast of the Gurbani, emphasizing the religious significance of the practice.
The court made this remark while dealing with a copyright infringement suit filed by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to restrain a private channel Galactic Television and Communications (GTC), from broadcasting/rebroadcasting Gurbani from the Golden Temple. He further submitted that as of date, SGPC has not licensed the broadcasting rights to any party whether on charge or otherwise. In the suit, senior advocate Chander M Lall, appearing for the SGPC, argued that the channel was infringing the SGPC’s broadcast reproduction rights under Section 37 of the Copyright Act by retransmitting Gurbani , which is exclusively broadcast on YouTube by it. Section 37 specifically protects the special rights of broadcasting organisations. The court however, issued summons in the suit and fixed September 24 as the next date of hearing.
“On prima facie appreciation of the matter, this court is not inclined to pass any ad interim order at this stage,” the court said in the order.
