KGF copyright infringement: High Court stays FIR against Rahul Gandhi, others

The High Court stayed the investigation in the FIR till the next date of hearing. A single bench of Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav passed the order after hearing the arguments of senior advocate AS Ponnanna on behalf of the petitioners.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted interim relief to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh and Supriya Shrinate in the music copyright infringement case. The FIR was registered by music company MRT Music over the alleged copyright infringement by the use of a song from the Kannada movie "KGF Chapter 2" in the promotional video for the "Bharat Jodo Yatra".

The High Court stayed the investigation in the FIR till the next date of hearing. A single bench of Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav passed the order after hearing the arguments of senior advocate AS Ponnanna on behalf of the petitioners. The senior counsel informed the bench that the videos featuring the song have been taken down from the official social media handles of the Congress party, following an earlier undertaking given to the court.

AS Ponnanna argued that no cognizable offence has been made out in the complaint so as to register the FIR. He also argued that Rahul Gandhi cannot be made an accused merely because his face is featured in the video. He even raised the issue of territorial jurisdiction, as the FIR was lodged at Yeshwantpur police station, although the Yatra never entered Bengaluru.