Former Reebok India MD summoned in defamation case

A Delhi court has summoned a former managing director of Reebok India Company in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Germany-based Adidas AG.

Considering "prima facie" that Subhinder Singh Prem, who headed Reebok India -- a subsidiary of Adidas AG, had made defamatory remarks against Adidas AG, metropolitan magistrate Navita Kumari issued summons against him for March 27.

"Thus, from the testimony of CW-1 (complainant witness) and the material on record, prima facie a case under section 500 IPC (defamation) is disclosed against the accused (Prem) and accordingly he be summoned for the said offence," the court said.

The court was hearing a plea filed by Adidas AG seeking prosecution of Prem.

It has alleged that Prem made various "malicious and defamatory" remarks against Adidas AG in the media to "wreak vengeance for the termination of services and with an intention to tarnish" the reputation of the company.

Adidas AG said that such statements are neither truthful nor in public interest.

Adidas AG - the parent company of Adidas Group - has about 170 subsidiaries worldwide, including RIC and Adidas India Marketing Pvt Ltd (AIMPL), said Adidas AG in its plea filed by its advocate Vijay Aggarwal.

Prem joined RIC in April 1995 and was appointed as MD in 2003 but his services were terminated in March 2012 due to his alleged involvement in fraudulent activities.