The ongoing legal battle between BharatPe and its former managing director, Ashneer Grover, took a significant turn as the Delhi High Court referred the dispute to a sole arbitrator on Thursday.
The fintech company, BharatPe, had approached the Delhi High Court alleging that Grover violated his employment agreement by disclosing confidential company information on social media.
This breach, BharatPe claimed, was in direct violation of his contractual obligations.
Before the matter escalated to the High Court, Grover had received a notice from BharatPe requesting arbitration.
While he agreed to the arbitration process, Grover disputed the choice of the sole arbitrator, leading to further legal proceedings.
In a previous round of litigation, the Delhi High Court fined Grover Rs 2 lakh for blatantly disregarding court orders.
Despite being restrained from posting defamatory content about BharatPe on social media, Grover continued to publish disparaging remarks.
The court had directed both Grover and BharatPe’s officials to refrain from making defamatory or unparliamentary statements against each other.
Additionally, the court ordered Grover to remove specific posts, including one where he labeled the SBI Chairperson as petty.
The dispute traces back to allegations of financial misconduct during Grover’s tenure at BharatPe.
The company accused Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain, and their relatives of embezzling company funds and using them to support their extravagant lifestyles.
Following an internal investigation, BharatPe terminated Madhuri Jain, who served as the head of controls, after uncovering financial irregularities involving crores of rupees.
In response to these allegations, Grover had already initiated arbitration proceedings at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, arguing that the investigation against him was unlawful and violated the shareholder agreement and articles of association.
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