Ness Wadia, who was handed a suspended sentence by a Japanese court is now back in India and will be able to discharge his responsibilities as usual, the Wadia Group said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Ness Wadia is in India. The judgement is clear. It is a suspended sentence. Hence it will not impact Ness Wadia in discharge of his responsibilities and he will continue to play the role that he has done hitherto, both within the group and outside,” a spokesperson for the group, who declined to be identified, said in an e-mailed statement.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Financial Times reported that Mr. Wadia had been sentenced for drugs possession while on a skiing holiday to Japan. Mr. Wadia had admitted to possession, arguing that the drug was for his personal use, the report said, citing a court official in Sapporo.
News of the legal troubles for the 47-year-old Ness, the elder son of Wadia Group chairman Nusli Wadia, triggered a slide in shares of the group’s listed companies that span businesses ranging from textiles to trading and cookies to chemicals.
The Wadia scion is on the boards of several group companies including Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, Britannia Industries Ltd., National Peroxide Ltd. and Go Airlines (India) Ltd.
Bombay Dyeing slumped 9.8% on the BSE to close at ₹112.60, while Bombay Burmah fell 2.4% to ₹1,241.30. Biscuit manufacturer Britannia dropped 2.5% to ₹2,893.10 and National Peroxide declined 5.8% to ₹2,645.75.
Mr. Wadia had spent a period in detention before his indictment on March 20 and an undisclosed period of detention before a court hearing, the Financial Times reported, adding that the Sapporo District Court had handed him a two-year prison sentence, which was suspended for five years.
“He has been sentenced for two years for sure but the court has released him on some conditions,” said Brian DLima, an advocate practising at the Bombay High Court, explaining the suspended sentence. “It appears that he has been asked by the court to not to repeat the same offence any time in five years, failing which his suspension will be revoked and he will be summoned by the Japanese court and will immediately [have to] serve the two years.”
Mr. Wadia is also the co-owner of Dream Cricket Private Ltd. which holds the franchise rights to the IPL team Kings XI Punjab
