Mumbai: Two persons have been fined Rs 5 crore by the Bombay high court, which has ordered them to pay the money to a cancer hospital after they were found selling spurious pipes for use in oil plants.

Justice S.J. Kathawalla 15 directed defendants Kishor Jain and Jeetendra Burad to pay Rs 5 crore to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.

Jain and Burad were found guilty after Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation filed a suit against them. In its judgement, the court stated, “The present case is the quintessential illustration of the extent to which a few unscrupulous persons, such as the present defendants, can go, in order to make a quick buck.”

“It is utterly unfortunate that such people have absolutely no regard for ethics or principles and in the bargain, they make an irreparable dent to the reputation of our country,” the court said in its order.

The defendants were found to be selling carbon seamless pipes, used in oil plants, to a company in Saudi Arabia by falsely claiming that they were made by Nippon. The duo also provided forged certificates bearing Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation trademark and logo, the lawsuit said.

Following the court hearings in the matter, the HC held the defendants guilty of infringing activities and admitted not only to the fabrication of the impugned certificates but also to affixing the plaintiff’s logos/marks upon the spurious pipes.

In its final order, the court stated that these activities were of a serious and criminal nature. “The severity of the situation lies in the fact that these pipes are always installed in sensitive areas. If these spurious pipes do not meet the standards and quality as the original pipes... there are bound to be disastrous consequences,” it said.