Three Indian brothers, Chandru, Bharat and Trishul Ganglani have been committed
to one month imprisonment without any option of fine by a Federal High Court
sitting in Lagos, for disobedience to court orders.
The trio who are directors of a plastic company, Sacvin Nigeria
Limited, were sent to prison for disregarding an earlier court order
restraining them from producing and marketing plastic products using the Scavin
logo pending the final determination of a subsisting suit against them.
In an affidavit in support of the contempt proceeding filed before the
court by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Pinheiro, which was deposed to
by a lawyer, Oludayo Ilori, the deponent alleged that Rike Industries Limited
who is the plaintiff in the substantive matter is the sole authorized
manufacturer in Nigeria of plastic products produced in the design of VIK
Singera Basin Mould, VIK road, Neck Mould and VIK Mug Mould.
Sometime in June 2009, the plaintiff discovered that Sacvin Nigeria
Company were actively selling in Nigeria plastic products with the design of
Sacvin not being the products of the plaintiff but closely resembling and
identical in design to the plaintiff’s products.
Thereafter, the plaintiff’s company was experiencing difficulties in
sales as a result of the defendants’ company’s infringement.
Consequently, VIK company was incurring serious financial loss on
daily basis. The company then instituted a legal action against Sacvin Company.On
9 July, 2009, the court made an interim order restraining Sacvin Company from
any act of engaging in the trade or business of manufacturing and selling or
distributing the plastic products with Sacvin logo.
However, Sacvin Company directors, according to a lawyer from the Femi
Pinheiro’s chambers, Chukwudi Enebeli, disobeyed court the order with impunity,
and engaged in manufacturing, importing, supplying, selling and distributing
the plastic products of Sacvin plastic products which are identical to the
defendants’ products and thus making the public to believe that the plastic
products are the same as the applicant’s product.
The counsel therefore urged the court to commit them to prison for disobeying
the order of the court, urging that if not they will persist in disobeying the
order of the court.
But the lawyer to the three Indian directors, Dan Olowojaiye, who did
not file any counter motion to the contempt proceedings, argued that the contemptnor
were not personally served. Aside this, the contempt was carried out by the
company and not the directors.
Replying, Enebeli told the court that the order of the court was to
paste it at the premises of the court. In addition, the directors are the mindset
of the company.
In his ruling, Justice John Tsoho, while upholding Enebeli’s
submission, said any act committed by the company, its directors are liable as
the mindset of the company.
Justice Tsoho therefore sentenced the three Indians to a month
imprisonment for them to purge themselves of the contempt.
Thereafter, Olowojaiye urged the court to give an option of fine. But
Enebeli said granting the convicts option of fine will make a mockery of the
judicial system.
The judge refused to grant the contemptnors any option of fine. Thereafter,
the substitutive case was adjourned till 20 April, 2012.
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