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2020 (6) TMI 692 - HC - Insolvency and BankruptcyJurisdiction - Infringement of the Copyright of successful bidder - defendant is a State owned company - plea of the defendant of fair dealing protected under Section 52(1)(a) of the Copyright Act is misconceived for the reason fair dealing is only applicable to private or personal use including research and does not apply to commercial activity - HELD THAT:- Sub-clause (b) of Clause 16 of the resolution plan thus clarifies that all consents, licenses, approvals, rights and entitlements, benefits, privileges whether under law, contract, lease or license granted in favour of the corporate debtor or to which the corporate debtor is entitled or accustomed to shall notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in their terms be deemed to continue without disruption for the benefit of the corporate debtor. Thus, the use of terms 'entitled or accustomed to' are of wide amplitude and ensure continuity of all benefits in favour of LHTPL to continue with the defendant - Sections 63 and 231 IBC create a bar on the jurisdiction of the civil court in respect of any matter in which the NCLT and NCLAT has jurisdiction under the IBC and the adjudicating authority under the Code is competent to pass any order. Further, clause (c) sub-Section (5) of Section 60 IBC vests the jurisdiction in NCLT to entertain and dispose of any question of priorities or any question of law or fact, arising out of or in relation to the insolvency resolution for liquidation proceedings. Therefore, the jurisdiction vested in NCLT while dealing with a resolution plan is of wide ambit and any question of law or fact in relation to the insolvency resolution has to be determined by the NCLT. Though there is a dispute between the parties on the aspect that in the absence of any assignment or a license issued in favour of LTHPL by the plaintiff how the benefit of such a license issued in favour of LIL could extend to the LTHPL however, neither party has filed the terms of agreement between LIL and LTHPL to clarify this aspect. However, as noted above, plaintiff has stated in the plaint that LTHPL was a SPV of LIL and that the Teesta VI Project was awarded to LTHPL - as per the resolution plan, dispute of the entitlement to the licenses or the benefit/privilege under the contract or license to which the corporate debtor is entitled or accustomed notwithstanding any provision to the contrary is a provision of wide amplitude and the disputes raised between the party would fall in relation to this right if that accrues in favour of the defendant. Thus the dispute raised in the present suit falls within the ambit of Section 60 (5) IBC as the same arises out of and/or is in relation to the insolvency resolution plan of LTHPL hence has to be adjudicated by the NCLT and the proceedings in the civil court are barred. The present suit would also be not maintainable in the absence of necessary parties LIL and LTHPL. It appears that LIL has deliberately not been made a party as the very impleadment of the LIL which has gone into liquidation would have ousted the jurisdiction of this Court to entertain the present suit. Even assuming that LTHPL had wrongly usurped or was infringing the copyright of the plaintiff in the drawings which is not the case of the plaintiff in the present suit, the defendant’s right to use cannot be decided in the present proceedings. The present suit and application are dismissed as not maintainable before this Court in view of Sections 230 and 231 read with Section 60(5) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
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