Ashneer Grover Withdraws Pleas Against BharatPe

Following the settlement of a two-year long legal dispute between BharatPe, cofounder and former managing director Ashneer Grover has officially withdrawn the oppression and management plea he had filed in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against the company and its board of directors.

“Liberty is granted to the applicant to withdraw the company petition… and the same is dismissed as withdrawn. The present IA is disposed of,” an NCLT order noted.

Inc42 has reached out to BharatPe for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

According to an ET report, Grover also withdrew a plea from the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), where he had sought his reinstatement as managing director of the company.

Notably, he also sought the board of Resilient Innovations Pvt Ltc (legal name of BharatPe) to be declared illegal. 

Recently, Grover and wife Madhuri Jain moved to Delhi High Court, seeking the quashing of an FIR filed with Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). 

Notably, the updates come close on the heels of BharatPe settling its two-year long legal dispute with Ashneer Grover, following which the former cofounder will no longer have association with the company, nor hold any shareholding pattern.

Founded in 2018, BharatPe claims to have a registered network of over 1.3 Cr merchants across 450 cities. The startup has facilitated disbursement of loans of over INR 12,400 Cr till date in partnership with NBFCs.

The legal cases with its cofounder Grover started when in January 2023, BharatPe filed a civil suit against Grover and his family members for alleged embezzlement of funds. The fintech unicorn also sought up to INR 88.67 Cr in damages.

On the financial front, the Peak XV-backed unicorn saw its consolidated revenue from operations grow 39% to INR 1,426 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 1,029 Cr in FY23.

Its consolidated EBITDA loss, excluding share based payment expenses, declined 75% to INR 209 Cr from INR 826 Cr in FY23. 

The firm’s pre-tax loss also halved to INR 474 Cr during the year under review from INR 941 Cr in FY23, while its net loss declined by 47% to INR 492 Cr in FY24 from INR 927 Cr in FY23.