A Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Chennai has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Vipul Joshi, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ideaForge Technology Limited, for failing to appear before the court and provide the necessary sureties as required. In addition, the court reprimanded the company’s senior executives—CEO Ankit Mehta, Director & Vice President Rahul Singh, and General Manager Somil Gautam—for allegedly attempting to submit fraudulent sureties in connection with a cybercrime case related to the company.
The court had previously instructed all accused in Case No. CC 1344/2024 to be present and furnish a personal bond of ₹25,000, along with two sureties of the same amount, in accordance with Section 91 of the BNSS. The deadline for compliance was set for April 1, 2025.
While three of the accused complied with the court’s directive, Vipul Joshi failed to appear or fulfill the legal requirements imposed on him. As a result of his non-compliance, the court proceeded with issuing a non-bailable warrant, directing law enforcement authorities to arrest him and ensure his presence before the court.
Additionally, the court came down heavily on Mehta, Singh, and Gautam for allegedly attempting to mislead judicial proceedings by presenting individuals with no connection to the case as sureties. The court condemned this act as fraudulent and a deliberate attempt to circumvent legal requirements.
However, ideaForge said that the warrant against its CFO has been recalled and cancelled. It further noted that the entire case orginiates from a customer indulging in false representation using the company's name and equipment.
"This case originates from an incident where one of our customers attempted to appropriate our intellectual property as their own and made False Representations to State Governments by defacing and tampering with our Equipment . When they were prevented from doing so, they initiated misconceived actions intended to harass the company. The interim procedural issues emanating from personal exigencies have been resolved. The warrant has been recalled and cancelled and all due legal procedures are being followed. The case is being pursued as per the legal remedies available to us under the law on the advice of our learned counsels, who are guiding us on each and every move," ideaForge said in an official statement received by the Lokmat Times.