The Delhi High Court expressed strong disapproval on Monday (May 16) regarding the use of defamatory language by fintech unicorn BharatPe and its former MD and co-founder, Ashneer Grover. In response to an application filed by BharatPe against Grover, alleging defamatory tweets against the company since the registration of an FIR by the Delhi Police, Justice Prateek Jalan, a single-judge bench, directed both parties to cease using “defamatory” and “unparliamentary” language towards each other.
Justice Jalan stated, “If you have both decided to enter the gutter, then please remain there,” urging the counsels representing Grover and BharatPe to advise their clients against using defamatory language.
BharatPe submitted the application as part of its pending defamation suit against Grover. The bench issued notices on BharatPe’s application and scheduled further consideration of the case for May 24 before the roster bench.
Recalling recent events, Grover finds himself in hot water as the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police filed an FIR against him, his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, and other family members on May 10 based on a complaint by BharatPe.
In addition to the EOW case, BharatPe has filed a civil suit in the Delhi High Court seeking INR 88.67 Cr in damages from Grover, Madhuri Jain Grover, and their family members. The company has also filed an arbitration suit in the Singapore International Arbitration Centre to recover restricted shares (1.4%) allotted to Grover.
Furthermore, BharatPe’s co-founders Bhavik Koladiya and Shashvat Nakrani have also filed lawsuits against Grover. Despite the legal challenges, Grover appears undeterred. On Monday, he took a dig at BharatPe, mentioning the company’s disabled comments section on social media platforms for the past 15 months. He also targeted BharatPe’s Head of the Board, Rajnish Kumar, in a tweet on Sunday.
Amidst the ongoing controversies, Grover has been actively promoting his new venture, CrickPe, a fantasy cricket app launched earlier this year. Last month, he announced that the app had garnered 1 million downloads ahead of the IPL season, within a month of its launch.
