Hyderabad businessman challenges summons in Delhi liquor case linked to Pernod Ricard complaint

New Delhi [India], January 6 (ANI): Hyderabad-based businessman Arun R Pillai has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court challenging a magistrate court's order summoning him and others in a case related to a complaint by French liquor giant Pernod Ricard.
The complaint alleges non-payment by M/s IndoSpirits, with both firms implicated in Delhi's excise policy case.
Pillai, through Advocate Deepak Nagar, is seeking the setting aside or quashing of the impugned order passed by the magistrate court on August 31, 2024, on the complaint filed by Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd against the petitioner.
Advocate Deepak Nagar stated in the plea that the magistrate failed to recognize that the petitioner was not the controlling person of Indo Spirits and was not actively involved in the issuance of the subject cheques.
The petition challenges the decision by the Judicial Magistrate to take cognizance of the offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, asserting that the magistrate did so without properly considering the facts of the case and the correct legal principles.
The bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula is scheduled to hear the matter on January 7, 2024.
The plea stated that Pernod Ricard, the respondent, had filed a complaint before the Judicial Magistrate at Patiala House Court, alleging an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act against the partnership firm M/s Indo Spirits and four other individuals.
According to Pernod Ricard's complaint, M/s Indo Spirits is a partnership firm engaged in the wholesale distribution of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, foods, and other products. The firm is identified as the entity liable for the non-payment of goods supplied by Pernod Ricard, and it is also the issuer of the dishonoured cheques that are central to this complaint.
Pernod Ricard and Indo Spirits are engaged in a legal dispute in the Court concerning a case related to the liquor excise policy. The conflict revolves around unpaid dues tied to the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22, with both companies named in the Enforcement Directorate's charge sheet. (ANI)