Delhi HC imposes Rs 2 lakh fine on ex-Bharat Pe MD Ashneer Grover for derogatory posts

Ashneer Grover is the co-founder of BharatPe. (File photo)

The Delhi High Court on November 28 imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on Ashneer Grover, the former Managing Director and co-founder of Bharat Pe, for sharing inappropriate posts about Bharat Pe. The action, however, was taken despite Grover giving assurance to the court that he would refrain from doing so.

The court dismissed Bharat Pe's plea to prohibit Grover from posting defamatory content. The decision appears to consider Grover's commitment to abstain from sharing such content in the future and his apology for the previous behaviour.

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Last week, Moneycontrol reported that BharatPe had filed a fresh case on November 23 and sought the court's intervention to restrict Grover from publishing or disclosing confidential information about the company. The argument presented was that Grover continues to be bound by confidentiality obligations outlined in his employment agreement.

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According to several media reports, Grover, who is under investigation for alleged financial irregularities at BharatPe, posted on social media platform X last week about the equity allocation and secondary components during the company's Series E funding round. This funding round was led by Tiger Global and involved participation from the Dragoneer Investor group and other investors.

Earlier this month, Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain were reportedly stopped at the Delhi international airport due to a lookout circular issued against them in connection with the alleged fraud at the fintech firm.

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The couple were about to travel to New York for a vacation. The intervention was based on a lookout circular issued by the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the Delhi Police.

The EoW is investigating complaints related to alleged payments made at BharatPe to fake human resource consultancies purportedly operated by Grover and his family.

The fintech unicorn has also filed a civil suit against Grover, his wife Jain, and other family members. The suit seeks more than Rs 88 crore in damages, alleging misappropriation of funds.