Frivolous suits against Azim Premji; two convicted of contempt

In a ruling last week, the Karnataka High Court ruled that two members of India Awake for Transparency Limited filed repeated complaints against IT major Wipro Limited and its founder and chairman Azim Premji.

In a petition filed against the 'shell' company and its representatives, Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, Wipro Limited, and Hasham Investment and Trading Company Limited sought to take action under criminal contempt.

Subramanian appeared as counsel, while Sadanand claimed to be a volunteer. Subramanian and Sadanand were found guilty under the Contempts of Court Act. Both were sentenced to two months' simple imprisonment and fined Rs 2,000 apiece.

It was noted that petitioners filed repeated cases in the name of fictitious companies. 'India Awake for Transparency' was the name they gave without revealing the full name by hiding 'private limited'. According to the court, it was a brazen attempt to conceal the truth and impersonation to mislead them.

A warrant has been issued for the duo's arrest by the registrar (judicial). Further, the court ordered them not to file any legal action against the complainant and their group before any authority, including any court, tribunal, or forum.

Earlier on Feb 12, 2021, the court dismissed the petition by India Awake for Transparency and imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh, condemning the petitioner's conduct.

An appeal against this was brought before the divisional bench on Mar 25, which upheld the previous order and noted that the company had committed criminal contempt.

In their petition, they mentioned that large assets belonging to three companies were converted into gifts to a private trust controlled by the Premji family after they wound up.

Although the matter was settled by the ministry of corporate affairs, the Premji couple maintained that after that they filed a slew of cases seeking an investigation.