Synopsis: Skoda Volkswagen India filed an appeal against the order of Allahabad HC in which it dismissed Volkswagen India’s plea for quashing of a FIR filed against it in Noida on 10 July for the installation of ‘cheat devices’ in its vehicles.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea filed by Skoda Volkswagen India seeking to quash a First Information Report (FIR) on alleged emission cheat devices installed in its cars registered in Uttar Pradesh.
The judgement was delivered by a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde.
Skoda Volkswagen India appealed against an order of the Allahabad High Court dismissing the plea of Skoda Volkswagen India for the quash of a FIR registered against it in Noida on 10th July for the installation of ‘cheat devices’ in its vehicles.
However, the High Court ordered that until the submission of the police report, the company official should not be arrested in the case, subject to the condition that he cooperates with the investigation and appears as and when called upon to assist in the investigation.
It was submitted before the Supreme Court that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) slapping a fine on the manufacturer over the cheat devices had been stayed by the Apex Court earlier in 2019.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Volkswagen India had submitted to the Supreme Court that the new FIR is also based on similar allegations that are now sub-judice in the Apex court.
The NGT had imposed damages and increased compensation amounting to Rs 500 crore against the company on March 7 last year on a finding that it had installed a ‘cheat device’ during laboratory tests in its vehicles that showed lower emissions.
However, the Supreme Court stated that the proceedings before the NGT were not intended to deal with issues concerning individuals, such as:
(i) whether any emission handling software or cheating devices has been installed in vehicles purchased by certain persons; and
(ii) Whether any representation was made of the emission efficiency level of the cars to the purchasers of the cars in which such devices were installed.
Volkswagen India further argued that multiple FIRs are based on generic claims, with identical complaints. Singhvi also claimed that a committee established by the NGT in another similar FIR filed in 2015 exonerated the company.
The allegation in NGT was that the engines in Volkswagen cars had cheat devices and caused damage to the environment, and Singhvi said that the FIR named its officers in India and abroad.
While refusing to stay the investigation, the Supreme Court states that it is only cases in which no cognizable offence or offence of any kind is disclosed in the first information report that the Court will not allow an investigation to proceed.