SIAC quashes Ashneer Grover’s emergency plea against BharatPe’s ‘governance review’

In an order passed on Friday, the arbitration body said Grover’s claims that the governance review was undertaken in an unfair manner held “no merit”, the people said. The SIAC also said BharatPe’s shareholder agreement did not offer “any relief whatsoever” to Grover from internal investigation, they added.

BharatPe declined to comment. Messages to Grover did not elicit any response till press time Sunday.

Grover, represented by law firm Karanjawala & Co, moved the SIAC earlier this month, seeking an emergency relief from the review which started in January. He also sought to dissolve the current investigation committee and set up a new one to assess the matter.

BharatPe’s board had hired independent consultant Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) to look into the company’s internal processes.

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In his emergency plea, Grover alleged that the internal investigation gave him no chance to present his case and was aimed at tarnishing his reputation as well as removing him as a shareholder of the company.

He also sought the suspension of BharatPe chief executive Suhail Sameer as a director of the company.

Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared as the lead counsel for BharatPe.

“SIAC has said in its ruling that it is also ‘premature’ for the tribunal to come to any conclusive decision making, since the findings (of the governance review) have not been finalised and that it has not implicated Grover of any fraud yet. Further, it is in the board’s power to call for a governance review within a company,” said one of the people ET spoke to.

Grover can appeal against SIAC’s order.

Livemint first broke the news on SIAC’s arbitration order on Sunday morning.

The emergency arbitration comes even as settlement talks between Grover and BharatPe’s board continue. ET first reported on February 22 that
Grover had sought for indemnity from any future action against him, as a part of the ongoing talks.

On February 4, ET reported that
A&M had in its initial probe findings linked BharatPe controller Madhuri Jain, her brother Shwetank Jain and brother-in-law Deepak Jagdishram Gupta to financial irregularities at the company.

On February 22,
BharatPe sacked Madhuri Jain, wife of Grover, accusing her of “misappropriation of funds”. It also cancelled her stock options in the company.

Jain had overseen the finances of the company, last valued at $2.8 billion, since October 2018.

On February 22, Grover wrote to BharatPe’s board,
attacking chairman Rajnish Kumar and informing it about an ‘expletive laden’ communication between himself and group product head Bhavik Koladiya. He also alleged Kumar’s involvement in the incident.

Grover stated that the involvement of board chairman Kumar in the “episode” had confirmed his apprehensions that “the entire façade of the alleged governance review is riddled with premeditation, bias and prejudice”.