Porsche seeks quashing of warrants issued against its Chairman

A cheating case was filed by the company's former India importer, Precision Cars India

German luxury sports car maker Porsche AG is taking steps to quash the arrest warrants against its Chairman and chief executive Matthias Mueller in a cheating case filed by the company’s former India importer, Precision Cars India. 

The said warrants were issued by a magistrate in Jaipur, Rajasthan last year after a petition was filed by Ashish Chordia, who owns Shreyans Group based in New Delhi. Shreyans and its sister concern, Precision Cars, imported Porsche cars to sell in India from its introduction in 2003 until 2012.

Chordia moved court against Porsche when the latter allegedly fail to inform about its plans to switch importers. The warrants accuse the Porsche officials of cheating, intimidation and criminal conspiracy against its former Indian distributor.

Europe's largest car maker Volkswagen, who is the owner of Porsche, stated in the middle of last year that it will be the official importer of all Porsche cars in India. Chordia filed a petition in June last year, a month after Volkswagen made the vital change. Porsche, however, claims that Chordia's contract was terminated in 2011 itself.

"Porsche has the highest regards for the Indian judiciary and is going to - represented by its local lawyers and is taking steps to have the warrants and criminal proceedings quashed within the applicable periods. Porsche's lawyers are confident to be able to demonstrate that the complaint is completely frivolous", Porsche said in a statement.

Untill last year Chordia's firms operated eight Porsche dealerships spread across key cities like Mumbai and Delhi. The Rajasthan police and the Central Bureau of Investigation had subsequently approached the Interpol, as the accused in the case were based in Germany and the UAE.

Porsche, however, dismissed the allegations made in the criminal proceedings stating they were "baseless and without any material substance".

"Both the learned Trial Court and the Honourable High Court of Rajasthan at Jaipur have upheld Porsche's termination of the importer agreement and a subsequent appeal by the former importer to the Honourable Supreme Court of India was also dismissed. With one exception the former importer has exhausted all rights of appeal and the civil litigation is now at an end", Porsche further added.

The German company further adds, "The filing of criminal proceeding is an afterthought and just an attempt by the former importer to open a new - in the view of Porsche's local lawyers inherently frivolous - proceeding against Porsche. According to Porsche's local lawyers said bailable warrants are effectively a form of summons which provides the named individuals with the chance to answer the allegations made in front of the court".