Mukesh Ambani Summoned in Old Telecom Dispute: HC Calls It “Calculated Harassment”

The legal battle dates back to 2003, when a customer subscribed to a Reliance telecom scheme and received a handset. Claiming the phone was defective and service was poor, the complainant didn’t just stop at consumer court; they launched a barrage of criminal cases.

Over the years, three separate complaints based on this same transaction were quashed by the High Court, with the Supreme Court even dismissing appeals and confirming that no criminal case existed. Despite these clear losses, the complainant filed a fourth criminal complaint in 2025, hiding the history of the previous failures from the Magistrate, who then issued summons to Mukesh Ambani and the company.

Central Issue: Can a person repeatedly file criminal complaints on the same facts after they’ve been rejected by higher courts, and is a Chairman personally liable for a 20-year-old handset dispute?

HC’s Ruling: The High Court made it clear: enough is enough. Quashing the summons, the Court labeled the fourth complaint a “calculated attempt” to harass the petitioners and a blatant misuse of the justice system. The Judge pointed out that a disagreement over a phone is a civil or consumer matter, not a criminal one. Furthermore, there was zero evidence linking Mukesh Ambani to a routine telecom transaction from decades ago. The Court reiterated that a Chairman isn’t automatically a criminal for every minor company hiccup. To prevent further “endless litigation”, the Court quashed the case, imposed a token cost of Rs 1,000, and warned that any further attempts to revive this dead issue would face much harsher penalties.

To Read Full Judgment, Download PDF Given Below