Mumbai: The country''s third largest motorcycle maker, TVS Motor Co, has filed a Rs250-crore defamation suit against Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) in the Bombay high court, for accusing the former of patent violations.

The suit was filed earlier this week; reports quoted TVS vice president for corporate communication Cecil Dewars as saying.

TVS unveiled a new 125-cc bike `Flame'' in August, which Bajaj, India''s second-largest motorbike maker, said used the same digital twin spark technology it had patented in 2002. Baggage had also said it would defend its intellectual property.

TVS, however, called it a "malicious attempt to tarnish the fair name of the TVS group" and said it would sue Baggage if the allegations were not withdrawn and regrets expressed.

Bajaj had earlier said that it holds the global and Indian patents for the twin spark technology for small engines for which it received necessary patent approvals in July 2005. TVS, on the other hand, content that `Flame'' was fitted with a three-valve engine working on the CCVTi technology, which is different from Bajaj''s DTSi.

The Bangalore-based automaker had earlier threatened Bajaj of a defamation suit on the issue.