A New Delhi district court has issued summons to Ritesh Bawri and others of the Guwahati-based Bawri business family on allegations of criminal defamation filed by Dalmia Cement Bharat Ltd (DCBL), the flagship company of the Dalmia Group.
According to the complaint, the Bawri Group wrote letters in December 2015 to investment firms Guarantco and Frontier Markets Fund Managers Ltd allegedly making false and defamatory claims against DCBL, including allegations of irregularities committed by DCBL.
DCBL said these allegations by the Bawri group to the investment firms will “tarnish the reputation” of the company and cause “damage to its business affairs”.
The court found prima facie evidence of the allegations of defamation and has issued summons to certain members and associates of Bawri family for November 2017. Spokesperson of the Bawri family did not immediately offer any comments on the development.
The defamation case is the latest in an ongoing corporate battle between Dalmia Cement and the Bawri Group, a business family based out of Kolkata, also the original promoters of Calcom Cement Ltd.
The Bawri family has made allegations in the past against the Dalmia Bharat Group, its joint venture partner in Calcom Cement Ltd, regarding alleged mismanagement and siphoning of public money by DCBL.
The Bawri family handed over controlling stake in the 2.1-million-tonne Calcom cement manufacturing unit in Assam to Dalmia Cement in November 2012, while retaining 50 per cent economic interest. BusinessLine had earlier reported on the dispute between the two parties on February 16, 2016.