Bajaj gets relief from Bombay HC against INS Vikrant’s scrap dealer

Bajaj Auto has been granted injunctive relief by the Bombay High Court against defamatory accusations and remarks made by IB Commercials, the company from which the bike manufacturer had purchased INS Vikrant’s scrap metal for its new bike, the Bajaj V15, informed a press release. 

Bajaj recently took the wraps off its brand new INS Vikrant-tribute 150cc motorbike, the V15. The fuel tank of the bike has been made of metal obtained from the dismantling of the decommissioned aircraft carrier. For this, certain amounts of scrap steel, iron and aluminium were purchased by Bajaj from IB Commercials back in April 2015, said the release.

READ: Bajaj and IB Commercials war of words

However, once Bajaj started the promotions of the new bike, the scrap dealer began accusing the bike manufacturer on public platforms. The charges included Bajaj infringing the goodwill of the deal and use of exclusive video footage, from the dismantling of the INS Vikrant, to promote the bike, without permission from IB Commercials. 

Bajaj challenged the claims made by the scrap dealer and let out a series of firm statements in the aftermath. And finally, the bike manufacturer has now been granted relief from the Bombay High Court that came down heavily on IB Commercials. 

The High Court has ordered the scrap dealer to refrain from making any further defamatory comments or spreading wrongful information about Bajaj. It has also been warned to not let out any details of the contract between the two companies at the time of the sale of the INS Vikrant’s scrap metal. Any interference with Bajaj V15’s marketing campaign has also been prohibited by the Bombay High Court. 

Bajaj had reportedly bought around 1 metric tonne of aluminium and 2 metric tonnes of iron and steel, generated from the dismantled carrier, for Rs 1,80,000 from IB Commercials.

. 

Following the exhaustion of the metal, a cheaper version of the Bajaj V15, which is powered by an all-new 150cc DTSi single-cylinder oil-cooled unit that is good for 12PS of power and 13Nm of peak torque, will be launched. 

The bike has been priced at Rs 61,000 (ex-showroom Delhi), up against the likes of the Suzuki Gixxer and Honda Hornet in this segment.