Founder Files Lawsuit against Co-Founder of BharatPe for Shares

Bhavik Koladiya, the original founder of BharatPe, has filed a lawsuit against Ashneer Grover in the Delhi High Court. Koladiya is taking legal action against BharatPe’s co-founder and former managing director Grover “to get back his shares from him.” The matter has been listed before Justice Prateek Jalan in the Delhi High Court. Koladiya and Grover’s fight over shares was first reported by Mint last year. As co-founders, Koladiya and Shashvat Nakrani established BharatPe in July 2017 and incorporated it in March 2018. Koladiya was the company’s face back then and was talking to investors for funding. When Grover joined, the shareholding structure then was: Grover got 32% equity, Nakrani held 25.5%, and Koladiya still remained the largest shareholder in the company with a 42.5% stake. However, six months later in December 2018, Koladiya’s name went missing from the founders’ list due to discomfort on the part of large institutional investors. Grover then became the face of the company. An understanding was reached to minimize Koladiya’s public involvement with the firm. The arrangement involved him transferring his stake to Grover, Nakrani, Nakrani’s father and some angel investors. At present, Koladiya has filed a lawsuit to get his shares back from Grover in the Delhi High Court. Koladiya moved out of BharatPe in August 2022, and soon after, he was planning to take legal action against Grover to get back his shares. The defendants in this case include BharatPe as well. When Mint reached out to Koladiya for a comment, he said: “I cannot comment on this matter as it is sub-judice now. You can speak to my attorneys Sim & San.” BharatPe declined to comment, while Ashneer Grover did not respond to Mint’s queries.