In a rejoinder filed before the Delhi High Court on Monday, Pepsi said Coke was utilising preliminary competitive data gathered by it about Pepsi's key partners and they were being individually targeted.

Pepsi Counsel K K Venugopal pleaded for an interim injunction from the Court to immediately put a stop to the poaching of employees and business associates since Coke continued to make lucrative offers to them even after filing of the petition.

"These employees are being contacted regularly on the phone and personally through Coca Cola employees or independent consultants," he said.

He added that these efforts were part of a persistent and conscious strategy to target key employees of Pepsi.

The Court adjourned the case to Tuesday after two-hour long arguments on Monday.

Venugopal said the management of Coke was inducingthe entire staff of Goa Bottling Company, a former Coke bottler which became a Pepsi franchisee a few months ago, to breach the agreement between the company and Pepsi.

Venugopal said Coke has not even denied that it has approached and continues to approach employees, consultants, business partners and associates of Pepsi with the specific intention of inducing them.

Venugopal said the employees being targeted by Coke are privy to proprietary strategic information which was confidential and therefore, if such employees are taken away, such proprietary confidential information would fall in the hands of Coke.

In order to ensure that confidential information was not disclosed to competition, it was imperative that the employees do not undertake employment with any competitor for the limited duration, beyond which the information ceases to be confidential, Venugopal said.