Bombay HC Quashes FIR Against Ex-Go First MD For ‘Data Theft’

The Bombay High Court on Monday has dismissed a case of alleged data theft against Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, the former managing director of the now-defunct airline Go First, stating that no offense had been established against him.

In an order issued on October 23, a division bench comprising Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande asserted that proceeding with the case would only result in unnecessary procedural complications.

Prock-Schauer had sought to quash the FIR filed against him in February 2018 by the NM Joshi Marg police, based on a complaint from Go Airlines India Ltd.

The case included allegations under Section 408 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal breach of trust, as well as Sections 43(b) and 66 of the Information Technology Act, which pertain to data theft.

The court noted that the complaint did not substantiate a case under Section 66 of the IT Act, stating, “We fail to understand how the offense under Section 66 is made out.” The judges emphasized that continuing the proceedings would be a mere “procedural rigmarole,” leading to the decision to quash the FIR.

Prock-Schauer served as CEO of GoAir from 2015 until he became managing director in 2017, resigning that August. The complaint alleged that he had sent confidential information from his official email to his personal account and a third party, and it claimed he formatted data on his iPad.

It further asserted that he made unilateral decisions without consulting the Board of Directors and disclosed sensitive information to external parties.

Between March 2016 and December 2017, Prock-Schauer allegedly downloaded confidential data, causing financial losses to the company.

However, the court noted that Go Airlines had already filed a commercial suit against him in 2018, seeking to prevent the disclosure of confidential information and thereby protecting its interests.

In response to the allegations, Prock-Schauer contended that the emails sent to his personal account related to business negotiations with Airbus and were necessary for preparing briefings. His attorney, Niranjan Mundargi, clarified that some emails sent to a third party were simply related to his resignation and were directed to his lawyer in Austria for legal advice.

The court highlighted its attempts to obtain further evidence from the police regarding any additional documents downloaded or shared by Prock-Schauer in a fraudulent manner.

However, it found no material to support the claims that he had unlawfully obtained or shared information while serving as CEO.

This ruling underscores the challenges in proving data theft allegations, particularly when supported by insufficient evidence.

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