SC stays criminal proceedings against former Wipro chairman Azim Premji and others

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 18

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed criminal proceedings against WIPRO founder Azim Premji and his wife in a Karnataka court over merger of companies.

A Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul also issued notice on Premji’s petition challenging the summons issued to him by a local court on a private complaint alleging illegal transfer of assets worth crores of rupees from three companies into a private trust and newly formed company.

Earlier, the Karnataka High Court had dismissed petitions led by Premji, his wife and two others challenging the summonses issued in January this year.

The trial court had issued summonses against them on a private complaint led by Chennai-based company India Awake for Transparency.

On behalf of Premji, senior counsel AM Singhvi told the top court that it was a bizarre case. He said three companies of the Azim Premji group, entirely owned by him and his mother, merged into a fourth company of the same group known as ‘Hasham’ and it was being questioned. He asserted that there was no illegality in it.