Delhi court acquits Mother Dairy official in bribery trial
A Delhi court acquitted a Mother Dairy official in a bribery trial arising from a complaint by an authorised franchisee who distributed the company’s packaged milk. The dispute concerned a promotional incentive arrangement introduced in late 2024 and allegations surrounding the allocation of additional milk packets.
The distributor alleged that company management had threatened to withdraw his route authorisation unless he paid a commission directly from the proceeds generated by the additional allocations. The case therefore involved both the alleged payment demand and the franchisee’s ability to retain access to a distribution route.
Defence lawyers presented the dispute as part of a wider disagreement over route management and the vendor’s business practices. They argued that the company had taken action because the franchisee was distributing products from competing brands without authorisation while management was pressing him to increase sales of the primary brand.
The defence also referred to a proposal to appoint a second distributor in the same territory. According to the case material, that step removed approximately 20,000 rupees a month in secondary logistics income that the franchisee had previously received from third-party transport operators.
The court examined how investigators had conducted the verification exercise and the subsequent trap operation. It found that the officers had not recorded written administrative approval for the investigative steps. They also failed to document the vehicle registration details and the identities of the drivers used during surveillance.
Further deficiencies concerned the complaint and the handling of the investigation. The complainant’s spoken language was not recorded, while the formal complaint lacked required supervisory endorsements and systematic case-tracking numbers. The court found that these omissions created procedural gaps and left open the possibility that evidence could have been tampered with.
