__p Kobian India and Kobian Singapore have been at loggerheads with each other since November 2004 over the rightful ownership of Kobian India and the Mercury brand. Even as the case rests in court, the entire issue has assumed gargantuan proportions, with both sides playing the blame game.
p____p Sunil Sharma, managing director, Kobian India, who was largely made out to be the culprit has clarified his stand and claimed that he, in fact, is the aggrieved party.
p____p Rubbishing all claims made by Kobian Singapore of his being an employee of Kobian India, Sharma stated, “Kobian India was in fact promoted and incorporated on 23 June 1999 by me and my wife Sneh Sharma as the life time directors. Kobian Singapore was merely shareholder in the company since July 2000. Therefore, aversions made by them that I was an employee of Kobian India are devoid of any truth. It is completely out of context and the Company law board has accepted the fact that we are the promoters, lifetime directors, & stakeholder of Kobian India since inception.
p____p “During its inception, Kobian India was not in any way related to Kobian Singapore. Our relationship started when Kobian Singapore expressed its intention to invest in my company because of my long-standing goodwill, record of accomplishment, and reputation in the industry. Kobian India directors agreed to their request and allotted them the shares,’ he added.
p____p Sharma alleges that Kobian Singapore still owes his company an amount of Rs 60 lakhs. He also claims that while he was away on 16 November 2004, Nikhil Shah and Rajesh Bothra, of Kobian Singapore, visited his office in Bangalore and held the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). He also claims that he has been falsely accused of forging 51 percent shares of Kobian India. “There is no evidence of me forging 51 percent share. The company is promoted by me and belongs to me, so such claims are preposterous,” he stated.
p____p Sharma has filed an FIR with the Bangalore police on 22 December, 2004 (FIR No. 0290), for offences of criminal trespassing, fraud and cheating, criminally fabricating & forging the records & documents, illegally and fraudulently operating bank accounts, hijacking the Company resources and Property, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, robbery against Kobian Singapore directors.
p____p In the FIR he states, “While I was away on 16.11.04, Nikhil Shah and Rajesh Bothra, directors of Kobian Singapore, visited my office, situated at 404, Shree Complex, St. Johns Road, Blr 42 and claimed that they held Extra ordinary General Meeting (EGM) while such a meeting could only be called by the board of directors. Nikhil Shah, Rajesh Bothra, Shanker Agarwal, Chandramohan Natrajan, Pankaj Agarwal & others fraudulently fabricated the minutes and passed unlawful resolutions appointing themselves as directors. They also fabricated minutes of meeting & Form 32′ to file with the Registrar of Company, Bangalore. They criminally entered and conspired to take over my company & its properties by use of threat and criminal intimidation thus, committing robbery.
p____p Earlier, my employee Gururaja S reported that while I was away from 5 Nov 04 onwards, Chandramohan, Shanker, and Pankaj Agarwal forcefully entered the office. They took custody of all assets, records etc, and destroyed useful information & evidence stored in the computers & file/books. Subsequent to this, they declared in office that my wife and I have been thrown out and they are the final owners of the company.’
p____p Sharma had moved the High Court on 25 Nov ‘04 for conducting illegal EGM and it was stayed same day.
p____p The other issue of contention between the two parties is the Mercury brand, over which Kobian Singapore has claimed exclusive proprietary rights. They had filed a case against Sunil Sharma in the Bangalore City Civil Court and had attained the ad interim exparte order of temporary injunction. The order restricts Kobian India and its directors to manufacture, market, and dispose of goods under the trademark, name, and logo or under any other name similar to that of the trademark of the group company.
p____p However, Sharma retaliates by saying, Mercury is filed to trademark registry by Kobian India and it belongs to India. The case filed by them is in the lowest court and I am going to fight to the last and take the matter to the higher courts, because Mercury like Kobian India belongs to me.’
p____p I have wrongly been projected as the culprit and by bringing all this to the notice of the public, I only intend to clear my stand and hope that justice be done, he stressed.
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