Frankfinn chairman lands in turbulence over defamation charge

Business rivalry between two leading airhostess training institutes has landed the top officer of one in trouble.

K S Kohli, chairman of Frankfinn Aviation Services Pvt Ltd, is facing prosecution for defaming competitor Aviation and Hospitality Academy (AHA).

In a recent order, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Dharmesh Sharma dismissed the revision petition filed by Kohli and office-bearers of an NGO, SAUVEUR. They were ordered to comply with a summons issued in 2005 following a complaint filed by Akash Gupta, the proprietor of AHA.

The controversy related to a news item published in an English daily in 2003 by the NGO, in which the public was cautioned about “cheating cases” registered against the AHA in Delhi. The article also raised doubts over the AHA’s placement competence and the quality of education received by its students.

An employee of Frankfinn had reportedly taken admission in AHA in Mumbai and had subsequently been asked by Kohli to approach the NGO and register his grievances.

As per Gupta’s complaint, two other such complaints were also filed at the instance of Kohli, who had got the NGO set up to tarnish the image of his academy.

The first article, containing the facts of an FIR against AHA was published in Mumbai in May 2003, following which Gupta had approached the Delhi High Court.

Accepting his plea, the High Court had issued directives restraining SAUVEUR and newspapers from publishing any defamatory advertisements or notices.

Another article, however, was printed in Delhi after a few days and Gupta filed his defamation complaint against Kohli and the NGO.

This time, the magistrate summoned Kohli and six other NGO members.

In his defence before the sessions court, Kohli claimed that he was neither the in-charge nor responsible for the affairs of the said company. He contended that the news item was published for public benefit after a detailed inquiry.

ASJ Sharma, however, held that the article was undoubtedly “defamatory in contents and design.”

He noted the magazine, Aviation Times, was brought out by the Frankfinn Management and several members of SAUVEUR, including its president, were its correspondents.

ASJ Sharma then directed Kohli and others to follow the summoning order.

Kohli (47) is also registered as a Supreme Court lawyer and has recently made a foray into the music industry by launching the music of Bollywood rib-tickler “Welcome”.

While efforts to contact Kohli remained futile, his counsel R K Naseem said he was not aware of the court’s verdict and that Kohli or his people had not contacted him for long.