Delhi HC orders arbitration in Ashneer Grover-BharatPe confidentiality violation case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday appointed an arbitrator to address the dispute related to fintech firm BharatPe's allegations against its former managing director Ashneer Grover concerning breach of confidentiality under his employment agreement.

Justice C. Hari Shankar issued the order after BharatPe filed a plea for arbitration, accusing Grover of violating his employment contract by disclosing confidential company information on social media. 

Both parties agreed to arbitration, but Grover’s counsel proposed using the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) due to its involvement in related shareholder disputes. 

BharatPe contested this proposal, arguing that the employment agreement specifies arbitration under the Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC). The court upheld BharatPe's position.

Previously, the high court had fined Grover ₹2 lakh for sharing inappropriate posts about BharatPe, despite his assurance to the court that he would not do so. Grover has since deleted the posts and apologized.

In November 2023, Resilient Innovations, which operates BharatPe, filed a plea seeking an interim injunction against Grover to prevent further disclosure of confidential information. 

This legal action was triggered by Grover’s recent posts on X (formerly Twitter), where he disclosed sensitive details about BharatPe's Series E funding round, including the number of shares allocated to investors and the specific amounts invested by each.

BharatPe vs Grover

Following his ouster in 2022, BharatPe initiated multiple legal actions against Grover.

In December 2022, the company approached SIAC to reclaim Grover’s 1.4% restricted shareholding due to his termination without board consent. 

BharatPe also filed a ₹88 crore damages suit with the Delhi High Court, alleging misappropriation of funds and reputational harm. Additionally, BharatPe lodged a criminal complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which led to the registration of an FIR in May 2023.

Look-out circulars (LOCs) were issued against Ashneer Grover and his wife in November 2023 in connection with a cheating and forgery case. In May 2024, the court allowed the Grovers to travel abroad separately after they provided a surety of ₹80 crore each.

Grover's legal disputes also involve BharatPe’s co-founders. Bhavik Koladiya has filed a suit alleging a breach of the share purchase agreement dated 3 December, 2018, and claiming ownership of 16,110 shares, approximately 3.10% of BharatPe’s total shareholding.

Also Read: India aims to be global arbitration hub. And cut costs for its biggest litigant.

The high court, in April, barred Grover from selling or making third-party claims on these shares. 

Grover resigned as MD and co-founder of BharatPe on 28 February 2022, while Koladiya left the company in July 2022.

Also Read: Arbitration pros resist govt.'s advisory favouring mediation over arbitration