Delhi court orders FIR against former employees of a fashion label for secretly accepting orders from brand customers

A New Delhi court recently directed the New Delhi Police to register a First Information Report (FIR) against former associates of fashion designer Pallavi Mohan for criminal breach of trust.

First Class Judge Akshay Sharma ordered registration of an FIR over the complaint filed by Mohan alleging that her former employees, Manu Uniyal and Surender Kumar, were secretly taking orders from their clients.

The complaint, which also includes allegations of counterfeiting, further states that the named employees allegedly manufactured high-quality garments for women using the “Not So Serious” brand name, designs and materials and diverted payments to their own accounts and those of their family members and associated companies including Kalpana Uniyal and Manusmriti Ayurveda Pvt. Ltd.

Mohan further alleged that the proceeds from the illegal activities were transferred to accounts of her relatives, including Gunja Devi, Kumudh Kumari, Nand Kishore, Rachit Uniyal and Shashank Raturi.

The alleged offenses fall under Sections 408 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Mohan claimed that despite her initial complaint with the Delhi Police, no FIR was registered following which she filed a petition under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure through her lawyers Sumit Gehlot and Nikhil Bhalla of Fidelegal Advocates & Solicitors.

“…this court has no hesitation in holding that the cognizable offense of criminal breach of trust by a servant is punishable by us. 408 IPC is clearly committed by the suspects Manu Uniyal and Surender Kumar,” the court said.

In addition, it was noted that a proper on-site investigation is necessary as both the sellers and buyers need to be examined. The court sought a progress report during the next hearing on October 18.