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BharatPe filed a petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act of 1996 against Grover, seeking an interim injunction to prevent him from divulging the company's confidential information publicly. In May 2023, the court issued an order instructing Grover and BharatPe to refrain from using 'unparliamentary' and 'defamatory' language against each other.
The Delhi High Court, on Thursday, referred the dispute between Ashneer Grover and BharatPe to arbitration. The dispute arose from an alleged confidentiality breach from the former CEO of the company.
The bench of Justice C Hari Shankar presided over BharatPe's application, which sought the appointment of former Supreme Court Justice Hemant Gupta to expedite the resolution of the dispute.
BharatPe, represented by Advocate Anuj Berry, argued that Grover, during his tenure, had access to sensitive and confidential company information, which he allegedly disclosed via social media, thereby violating the confidentiality clause in his agreement. The company had previously issued a notice to Grover, invoking arbitration under the employment agreement terms, and proposed Justice Gupta as the arbitrator.
Ashneer Grover, through Advocate Giriraj Subramanium, did not oppose the arbitration but raised concerns regarding the appointment of Justice Gupta, suggesting instead Justice (Retired) J.R. Midha as an alternative. Advocate Subramanium further contended that since a related dispute was already under the purview of a tribunal at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), this new matter could also be referred to that tribunal for consistency.
The court sided with BharatPe, deciding that arbitration related to the alleged confidentiality breach would proceed under the Delhi International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), emphasizing strict adherence to the terms of the employment contract.
The dispute had intensified in recent months, with BharatPe filing a petition to prevent Grover from publicly disclosing the company's internal matters. Following this, Grover removed the controversial posts and issued an apology.
In April 2024, Bhavik Koladiya, a co-founder of the company, sought an injunction against Grover concerning 16,110 shares that had been transferred to Grover in December 2022, for which payment was still pending.
In December 2023, another co-founder, Shashvat Nakrani, also sought to restrain Ashneer Grover from selling or transferring shares that Nakrani had previously sold to him. Nakrani's objection centered on the transfer of his shares to Grover, with Nakrani asserting that he had not received the payment, despite Grover's claim of having paid in cash.
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