SC refuses to quash the criminal proceedings against Ideaforge in drone fraud case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to quash the criminal proceedings against Ideaforge Technology Limited, in connection with allegations of criminal breach of trust, cheating and unauthorised software disabling of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The Ideaforge is a prominent drone manufacturing company. Upholding the order passed by the Madras High Court earlier this year, the Supreme Court Bench led by Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan dismissed the quash petition. Top Court Observation The Top Court observed that there is a prima facie criminal case of cheating and ordered Ideaforge to appear before the Trial Court. The Court further refused the plea to exempt the directors of Ideaforge from appearing in the Trial Court. Backgrounder Navi Mumbai based Ideaforge Technology had supplied 15 UAVs to a customer for a total amount of Rs. 2,20,67,050 (Rupees Two Crore Twenty Lakh Sixty-Seven Thousand and Fifty Only). According to the Cyber Crime Police report, Ideaforge hacked and disabled the drones with the malicious intent to damage the customer’s business and reputation as the drones were deployed in crucial government projects worth around 70 crores. Customer Filed Complaint The customer filed a complaint to the Commissioner of Police, Chennai and FIR No. 235 of 2023 dated 31.08.2023 was registered by the Cyber Crime Police. Petition At Madras High Court Ideaforge filed a quash petition vide Crl.OP No. 22675 of 2023 before the Madras High Court to quash the FIR, which was earlier dismissed by the court on November 28, 2023. After the final report was filed, Ideaforge filed this present quash petition against the proceedings held vide CC No. 6907 of 2023 before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) for CCB cases, Egmore. The final report was filed under sections 409 and 65 of IPC and Section 66 r/w 45 of IT Act, 2008 r/w 420 IPC against Ideaforge directors, Ankit Mehta, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi and Executive Director Somil Gautam. On 31.01.2025, the Madras High Court further refused to quash petition on the chargesheet forcing them to appear before the Supreme Court. IdeaForge business primarily comes from contracts and tenders from Government Departments and the presence of an ongoing criminal prosecution would be a huge concern for the Company. Ideaforge Version However, Ideaforge Technology Limited has said that this case arose when a customer tried to claim our intellectual property and misled state authorities by tampering with our equipment. After being stopped, they launched baseless actions to harass us. Interim procedural matters have been resolved, the warrant has been recalled, and all legal steps are being properly followed. We are pursuing the case in accordance with the law, guided at every stage by our legal counsel.