Intellectual property theft comes under SC/ST Act, says Supreme Court, upholds HC relief to Dalit researchers

The Maharashtra government, which had opposed their plea successful the High Court, aboriginal moved the Supreme Court against the November 10, 2023 HC order.

But a seat of Justices B V Nagarathna and S C Sharma dismissed the state’s plea connected January 26. “We person heard the learned counsel for the petitioner astatine length. We bash not find immoderate merit successful the Special Leave Petition”, the tribunal said.

The couple, Shiv Shankar Das and Kshipra Kamlesh Uke, had told the Bombay HC that they had collected much than 500 samples for their socio-political survey from students of assorted acquisition centres successful Nagpur. They alleged that portion they were retired of the city, the lad of their location owner, who belongs to a higher caste, broke the locks of their premises on with constabulary and took distant earthy probe data, survey forms and process information by stealing their laptops.

The mates lodged a complaint, and an probe was launched. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, too, conducted an inquiry.

During this time, the mates sought assorted forms of relief, including for intelligence spot damage, nether Section 15A(11)(d) of the SC/ST Act. This proviso charges the authorities with the work to supply alleviation successful respect of decease oregon wounded oregon “damage to property”.

The committee recommended that the District Magistrate see the couple’s ten-point demand, wage them compensation and signifier an SIT to analyse the matter.

The SIT was formed and a complaint expanse was filed against the accused. But the mates alleged that adjacent though they were granted alleviation nether definite heads, the authorities took the basal that determination was nary proviso successful the Act oregon the Rules to assistance immoderate further alleviation successful the signifier of compensation for the harm to intelligence property.

Following this, they approached the Bombay HC, arguing that the connection “property” referred to successful the proviso encompasses spot specified arsenic data, physics worldly and intelligence rights.

The authorities authorities contended that the words “damage to property” successful the proviso are required to beryllium interpreted to mean tangible and carnal property.

Rejecting this argument, the High Court Division seat had said that the connection “property” is not defined successful immoderate proviso of the Atrocities Act and, “therefore, indispensable beryllium fixed a plain and literal meaning to the word, which would see immovable and movable property, whether tangible oregon intangible oregon successful immoderate signifier of whatsoever quality which is susceptible of being valued”.

“The meaning to beryllium assigned to the connection ‘property’ would see incorporeal spot specified arsenic a close successful rem, a close implicit worldly oregon immaterial happening and includes a ineligible close successful a spot not having immoderate carnal beingness specified arsenic a Patent, a Copyright oregon a Design which are intangible successful quality and deficiency carnal existence. Intellectual rights are rights successful spot adjacent though they deficiency carnal beingness and are, therefore, susceptible of valuation for the intent of deciding compensation oregon alleviation nether the provisions of the Atrocities Act,” it said.

“We clasp that the intelligence spot contained successful the signifier of information oregon physics worldly oregon immoderate different worldly contained successful the brushed transcript oregon integer form… would beryllium susceptible of valuation for the intent of granting reliefs successful presumption of the provisions of Section 15A work with Rule 12 of the Atrocities Act and Rules made thereunder,” it said.