Delhi HC issues no-coercion order against Shopclues ex-CEO's FIR on co-founders

July 2019 | ShopClues - About 200 employees laid off as per news reports

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday passed a ‘no-coercion order’ in response to a FIR by Sandeep Aggarwal, co-founder of e-commerce firm Shopclues against the company’s other two co-founders Radhika Ghai and Sanjay Sethi.

Aggarwal had filed an FIR earlier this week, against his estranged wife Radhika and Shopclues current CEO Sanjay Sethi alleging forgery and cheating.

The ‘no-coercion’ order has been passed till the matter is heard on its merits.

In legal parlance, a coercion is the practice of forcing another party to act in an involuntary manner by use of intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. The order also effectively stays any action on the FIR.

A press statement from Shopclues alleged that the FIR was filed with an intent to harass and defame the company and its founders.

In response, counsel for Aggarwal said that the order has no bearing on impending investigation. "It is an ex-parte interim order however there is no embargo on police for investigating this case," said Vijay Aggarwal, legal counsel of Sandeep Aggarwal.

In March, in a series of Facebook posts, Sandeep Aggarwal had accused wife Radhika and the company's current CEO Sethi of illegally ousting him from the company and changing the voting rights while he was away in the US.

He also accused them intentionally and deliberately kicking out other founding members.

According to Sandeep Aggarwal, the problems arose when in October 2016 he came to know that ShopClues changed his right to nominate a board member way back in April 2014, during its Series C round.

He had stepped down as CEO of Shopclues in October 2013 after he was asked to cooperate with US authorities in an insider trading case of listed US corporations.

Shopclues issued a statement this week stating that Mr Aggarwal is barred from showing any current association with the company in any manner. It’s imperative to note that Aggarwal is still holds a stake in Shopclues, after his ouster.

“There is a ‘gag’ order from the Delhi High Court in force which forbids Mr. Sandeep Aggarwal from making any statements about the company or its founders and specifically, anything that can prejudice or defame the company or its founders,” a press statement from Shopclues on Thursday said.

Read also: ShopClues co-founder regrets Facebook outburst but stands by claims