1. The question for consideration is, whether an Architect, as author of artistic work of architecture in the form of a building or structure having an artistic character or design and having a copyright therein, upon the owner of the land on which building is constructed choosing to demolish the said building to construct another building in its place, has a right to restrain the owner from doing so and if the building has been demolished, to demand compensation therefor including by reconstruction of a building in accordance with the architectural drawings or plans by reference to which the building or structure was originally constructed.
2. The plaintiff has instituted this suit pleading that:
(a) plaintiff is an acclaimed architect, a distinguished doyen of architecture from India who is recognized internationally; the plaintiff has designed many important buildings throughout his forty years of distinguished career; some of the creations include the Hall of Nations, the Nehru Pavilion, the Asian Games Village, National Institute of Immunology, SCOPE Office Complex, the Library for the Indian Parliament, all in Delhi, the Lisbon Ismaili Centre, Portugal, the Indian Embassy in Beijing and the Visual Art University in Rohtak; the plaintiff is the author of the artistic work in all the said works of architecture and is the exclusive owner of the copyright in the said architectural works;
(b) the Hall of Nations and the Hall of Industries designed by the plaintiff were constructed in the year 1972 for the purpose of promoting commercial activities across 2,00,000 sq ft. area and the structure thereof was designed by Mr. Mahendra Raj;
(c) the design thereof was evolved to meet the constraints of time, availability of material and labour but above all, to reflect symbolically and technologically, the nation's prowess in structural engineering and architecture in the 25th year of its independence;
(d) the architectural ingenuity in these buildings has gained the plaintiff and Mr. Mahendra Raj a unique distinction of being the first "Large Span Concrete Structure" in the world;
(e) these iconic structures symbolize self sufficiency of the country for the use of concrete as against the more expensive alternate of using steel and iron to construct such buildings and structures;
(f) the work of architecture in the said buildings has been applauded by other well-known celebrated architects within and outside India, including in their literary works in the field of architecture;
(g) the aforesaid buildings were also celebrated in the commemorative stamp issued by the Government of India in the year 1992;
(h) the Nehru Pavilion in the said building has been exhibited in several international and national exhibitions and featured in various international and national magazines and publications;
(i) Bye-Law 23.16 of the Delhi Building Bye-Laws, 1983 and Bye-Law 7.26 and Para 1.15 of Annexure-II of Unified Building Bye-Laws for Delhi, 2016, provide for constitution of a Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) to prepare a list of heritage sites and for conservation thereof; HCC was finally constituted under the orders of the Supreme Court and started functioning with effect from 6th August, 2004;
(j) the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) compiled a list of 62 iconic buildings to be declared as heritage sites and forwarded the same to the HCC and the said list was discussed in the meetings of the HCC from time to time; the Hall of Nations and Nehru Pavilion were included in the said list of 62 iconic buildings;
(k) the defendant no. 2 Indian Trade Promotion Council (ITPO) mooted a proposal for demolition of Hall of Nations and the Nehru Pavilion and the same was immediately represented against by the plaintiff and Mr. Mahendra Raj;
(l) upon the re........