A court in Delhi has granted anticipatory bail to Ford India Managing Director Anurag Mehrotra and Director David Allan Schock in connection with a fraud case filed by a dealer.
Allowing bail applications filed by Mehrotra and Schock, additional sessions judge Raj Rani directed that "in the event of (their) arrest, the applicant(s) be released on interim bail for a period of 30 days on furnishing of bail bonds in a sum of Rs 5 lakh", as reported by Hindustan Times.
Justice asked the applicants to join the investigation whenever asked by the investigating officer and not tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses.
Libra Cars, a Ford dealer in New Delhi, had in November 2020 filed a case against the duo for cheating and criminal breach of trust on the grounds that Ford India had violated the terms of the agreement between the parties by appointing another dealer within a radius of 10 km from the complainant’s showroom.
Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, who appeared Mehrotra, contended that allegations made in FIR were purely civil in nature and the case was filed after a delay of over 18 months.
The dealership was terminated in March 2019, he said, as quoted in the report.
Appearing for Schock, advocate Rohit Kochhar argued that Ford India has "nothing to do with" the alleged offences as it is not the company that cheated Libra Cars, rather the dealer himself cheated the public at large as he did not follow the terms and conditions in the agreement of dealership.
Granting relief to the applicants, the court noted that the investigating officer has nowhere stated that custodial interrogation/arrest of Ford India MD and director is required.
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