INDO FLOGATES LTD Vs. HEMANTA BHATTACHARYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this petition filed under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the petitioner indo Flogates Limited, a company incorporated under the Companies Act has challenged the order passed by the learned Additional District Judge, Rourkela on 1 -12 -1993 in Misc. Appeal No. 6/1993 setting aside the order of interim injunction passed by the learned Subordinate Judge, Rourkela in Misc. Case No. 42/93 arising out of T.S. No. 42/93,

(2.) FACTS of the case, shorn of unnecessary details, may be stated thus : Petitioner -Company filed the afore -mentioned suit citing the opposite party, Hemanta Bhattacharya and his employer Visuvius India Limited, as defendants seeking a declaration that defendant No, 1 is not entitled either alone or jointly with or as employee, manager or agent for any person, firm or company directly or indirectly to carry on or to engage in any business similar to the business of the plaintiff, for perpetual injunction restraining the defendant No. 1 from being employed by the defendant No. 2 or continuing with the services of the defendant No. 2 or either alone or joint with or as employee, manager or agent for any person directly or indirectly to carry on or to engage in any business; similar to the business of the plaintiff and for perpetual injunction restrai - ning the defendant No. 2 from employing and/or in any way utilising the services of the defendant No. 1

(3.) IN June, 1993, the opposite party represented to the petitioner that he had received an offer of appointment in Europe and wanted to tender his resignation from service of the petitioner in order to take up a job in Europe. The petitioner believed and relied on such representation of the opposite party; the resignation tendered by him on 14th June, 1993 was accepted on 15th June, 1993 and the opposite party was relieved from his service with effect from 29th of June, 1993, In Aug. 93 the petitioner came to know that the opposite party has joined another company in India, Visuvius India Limited, (Defendant Mo. 2) as its general manager (Technology). The said company is a new establishment, it has set up a manufacturing unit in India to produce, inter alia, refractories for slide gates system and therefore is a competitor with the petitioner in business. Thereafter the petitioner carried on correspondence with the opposite party bringing to his notice the violation of the terms of the agreement and requested him to desist from service under defendant No. 2. The opposite party paid no heed to the requests and did not reply to the letters sent by the petitioner from time to time In such compelling circumstances the petitioner filed the suit seeking the reliefs noted earlier.