Agra : In 2001, Brij Mohan, then 30, had illegally copied the print of Sunny Deol-starrer Gadar — which was still being screened to packed cinema halls — on a VCD and ran it through his local cable network in Agra city, brazenly disregarding the Copyright Act.
Twenty-five years later, law caught up on Mohan (now 55) after a CJM court in Agra sentenced him to one-and-a-half years in jail along with a fine of Rs 3,500 — Rs 2,500 under the Copyright Act and Rs 1,000 under the UP Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1955.
During the trial, prosecution witnesses told court that Gadar was being transmitted without required permission or licence. Mohan’s counsel, however, tried hard to convince the court, arguing that this was his first offence, the incident was two decades old and he did it out of “patriotic sentiment”. Officials found the movie being played and seized the CD, according to the court record.
A case was subsequently registered at Rakabganj under sections of the Copyright Act, 1957 and the UP Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1955. A charge sheet was filed in June 2001, and trial ensued. The court of chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Sharib Ali then passed the order on Sept 9, a copy of which was made available on Saturday.
Taking into consideration the long period for which the accused had faced judicial proceedings, the court stated that an excessively harsh punishment was not necessary and, in any case, the “objectives of justice” could be met through an appropriate term of imprisonment and fine.