Ashreer Grover gets 3 more weeks to respond to BharatPe petition

The Delhi High Court on Monday granted three weeks to former BharatPe chief Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, to respond to an interim petition by the company.

“Three more weeks' time granted to the defendants to file their responses to the interim applicants. Written statements to be filed in response to the main suit as well,” the bench said.

The Delhi High Court has refused to gag Ashneer, but has nudged both sides to "extend courtesy".

Delhi High Court’s Justice Navin Chawla while hearing the suit filed by BharatPe said that, “This social media has brought us down to this level. Ask him to maintain decorum."

The Delhi High Court bench also asked Grover’s counsel to advise Grover to stop speaking against the company’s professionals. During the hearing, the court was also informed of Jain's and other defendants' delays in filing their filings.

“The moment you start saying something against these officers of the company, you are defaming the company,” the bench said.

What happened? The backstory

BharatPe has filed a 2800-page civil suit and criminal complaint against Ashneer Grover, his wife and his family.

The family members include Madhuri Jain Grover's brother-in-law Deepak Gupta (head Admin & Logistics), her father Suresh Jain and brother Shwetank Jain (both vendors of the company).

BharatPe has alleged charges on 17 counts, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, siphoning, embezzlement of funds and forgery and has claimed Rs 88 crore in damages from Grover, and family. In this regard, the Delhi HC issued notice and has decided to summon Grover and his wife.

Grover resigned as BharatPe's managing director in April following a bitter dispute with the board. Madhuri Jain Grover had also been terminated as the head of controls on allegations of funds misappropriation.

An Alvarez and Marsal preliminary study from January of last year served as the basis for BharatPe's complaint.