Millennium Motors, whose dealership was terminated, accuses Mercedes Benz India of committing forgery.
It was high drama in Pune on Monday when six top officials of Mercedes Benz India (MBI), including the CEO and managing director, Wilfried Aulbur, rushed to a Shivajinagar court seeking interim anticipatory bail in an alleged forgery case.
The case was filed by Millennium Motors Private Ltd, challenging the termination of their dealership. Millennium Motors has alleged that officials at Mercedes Benz India forged documents of account settlement. The plea will be heard on Tuesday.
Mercedes Benz officials had approached Bombay high court on February 18, seeking relief in the event a case was registered in this regard. The high court stated that in the event of arrest of these officials
in connection with the Millennium case, the applicants be released on bail of Rs25,000 each.
“The high court has given them interim protection till February 25 and will hear the case that day,” said Shyam Taori, advocate for Millennium Motors.
Khadki police station senior inspector Vilas Gawli said the police would record statements of Merdedes officials before filing an FIR against them.
Police said they had received a complaint from Dipak Naik, the chairman of Millennium Motors requesting investigation into the allegations.
The allegations Naik alleged that the forgery by Mercedes officials had caused Millennium “severe financial losses”.
Naik said Millennium were official dealers of Mercedes cars for the last nine years. “Mercedes officials had called us to discuss our sales targets for 2010, on November 23, 2009. But, at the meeting we were told our contract had been terminated. They also told us to resign from the dealership immediately,” he said.
Naik said it was decided to settle accounts with Mercedes and a meeting was called on November 25, 2009. “We sent two officers. There was no concrete discussion, but our officials were asked to sign on the minutes of the meeting,” he claimed.
On December 5, Naik said, Mercedes sent a letter stating all pending dues had been settled. “The letter was signed by the top management,” he said.
Naik alleged that the letter had signatures of the two Millennium officials who had attended the meeting on November 25. “Our officials’ signatures were forged, while signatures of Mercedes’ officials - who were not present at the meeting - were attached to it,” he claimed.
“We suspect mischief as our accounts have not been settled,” he charged.
Taori said, “We have filed a separate civil suit. Legally, we still consider ourselves Mercedes dealers as there is no official confirmation from them.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}