KOLKATA: Calcutta high court, on Wednesday, directed an associate of a German-based company to pay damages equivalent to 50,000 Euros to an Indian small scale firm that manufactures couplings. ESBI Hi-Flex Pvt Ltd and an associate company moved high court against Vulkan Technologies Pvt Ltd, accusing it of defamation. ESBI Hi-Flex manufactures couplings while its associate firm, a member of the Engineering Export Promotion Council, was engaged in exporting them. Vulcan Technologies is a rival of the petitioners. The couplings manufactured by ESBI Hi-Flex were inspected and certified by Det Norske Veritas AS (DNV), an authorized certified classification agency.

On July 10, 2008, the petitioners received an e-mail from DNV. This was actually a mail sent by Vulkan Technologies to DNV on July 9, 2008, accusing the petitioners of being 'spurious manufacturers'. This mail was subsequently forwarded by DNV to the petitioners. ESBI Hi-Flex and its associate immediately moved the court, accusing Vulkan Technologies of defamation. The German company submitted in court that it had called the petitioners 'spurious manufacturers' as they had attempted to pass of products manufactured by them as those produced by Vulkan Technologies. The company also requested DNV to withdraw the certificate issued to the Indian firm.