An end to the BharatPe-Ashneer Grover legal battle

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

An end to the BharatPe-Ashneer Grover legal battle

The context: In February 2022, fintech startup BharatPe became mired in a tabloid-sized scandal. Ashneer Grover—already famous as a Shark Tank judge—became a poster boy for toxic, shady founders. It began with a viral clip of Grover using severely abusive language—maa-behn gaalis and death threats—against a Kotak banker. Grover and his wife Madhuri—who was in charge of company accounts—were sent on “voluntary leave.” An internal audit revealed a family-dhanda fraud—involving fake headhunters filing fake invoices (See: this Big Story).

What happened next: The controversy triggered a long, drawn out series of ‘tu tu, mai, mai’ between the board and the Grovers:

Grover filed a plea with a Singapore court, claiming the internal investigation was illegal.
The company responded by sacking his wife for alleged “misappropriation of funds”—and Grover resigned soon after.
In December 2022, BharatPe sued Grovers for defrauding the company of Rs 81.28 crore (812.8 million).
In 2023, Delhi Police lodged an FIR against the Grovers. Their investigation uncovered evidence of brazen embezzlement.
Finally, this month, the police arrested former Managing Director Deepak Gupta—Madhuri’s brother and Ashneer’s saala.

What happened now: BharatPe and the Grovers have magically settled their differences. The terms are astonishingly generous:

Ashneer Grover or his khandaan will no longer be involved in BharatPe in any capacity—neither its shareholding, nor its capital table.
But of the 8.5% stake held by the Grovers, 4% has gone back to BharatPe’s parent company. The remaining will be housed under the Grover family trust.
Both parties will drop any and all ongoing legal cases filed against each other.

Nope, there isn’t a word about the money stolen from the company coffers.

Grover ki besharmi: is limitless, as suspected. He gleefully tweeted out this husband & wife photo—alongside the news of the settlement:

As Grover himself would say: ‘Ye sab doglapan hai’ (all this is hypocrisy).

What’s next: Thanks to the saala’s selfless sacrifice, Ashneer can look forward to living large on a celebrity career built on spicy soundbites—and an adoring audience of tech bros. (Mint, Bar and Bench)

Speaking of embezzlement: The leader of the French far-right Marine Le Pen will stand trial for allegedly stealing European Union funds. This is money given to Members of the European Parliament to cover their expenses. Prosecutors claim that Le Pen and 24 others “siphoned off roughly €3.2 million from 2004 to 2016 at a time when their party, then called Front National, was cash-strapped.” If Le Pen is found guilty, she could face up to 10 years in prison and up to $1.1 million in fines. (The Guardian)

Speaking of the far right in Europe: Freedom Party, or FPÖ in Austria won the parliamentary election on Sunday. It was formed by Nazis in the 1950s—but has recast itself as primarily a pro-Russia, anti-immigration party. It has been part of ruling coalitions before—but this is the first time it has won a national vote. But it only has 28.8%—which means it needs partners to stay in power. All parties, however, have rejected its offer of a coalition. Al Jazeera has more on what happens next.

Gaza, the sequel? Israel enters Lebanon

The Israeli military has launched what it calls a “targeted and demarcated ground operation in southern Lebanon against terrorist targets and infrastructures of the terrorist organisation Hezbollah.” The New York Times is obediently calling them “brief incursions.” The not-US sources indicate otherwise:

Elijah Magnier, a military and security analyst based in Brussels, said rather than a limited ground operation, the Israeli force on the Lebanon border is growing in size and likely plans to surround and eliminate Hezbollah special forces in southern Lebanon. “It is not what the Israelis are telling us. From open source [intelligence], we understand that the Israelis have prepared at least 18 brigades. So we are talking about between 70,000 and 100,000 soldiers,” Magnier told Al Jazeera.

Washington washes its hands: The US offered up a variation of its Pontius Pilate routine. This time around, the Americans did know it was coming—and are even claiming some kind of diplomatic victory: “American officials said on Monday that the United States has been trying to dissuade Israel from conducting a major ground invasion, and they believe those efforts have been productive.” In fact, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called his Israeli counterpart—to give the greenlight:

I spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today to discuss security developments and Israeli operations … We agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that Lebanese Hizballah cannot conduct October 7-style attacks on Israel’s northern communities.

Amreeki besharmi clearly rivalling the Ashneer kind. Meanwhile, air strikes continue to pound Lebanon—killing at least 95 on Monday.

Reading list: Al Jazeera analyses what a ground invasion would look like. New York Times has everything you need to know about the Israeli military view. The Guardian has more on why the US can’t seem to do eff-all.

Hurricane Helene’s devastating toll

The monstrous Category 4 hurricane swept across six US states—and has claimed at least 128 lives. Officials estimate the final toll may be as high as 600. It has devastated 600 miles of habitation—both on the coast and inland:

As the water slowly retreats, “We are seeing just piles of people’s houses that were destroyed. Buildings that were destroyed. Cars overturned,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said Monday. “The power lines look like spaghetti. It’s hard to describe the chaos that it looks like. It really feels like a post-apocalyptic scene.”

The hurricane made landfall on Thursday with winds of 225 kilometres per hour. The New York Times put together a powerful interactive feature on the hurricane and its destructive path. CNN has the best reporting from the ground. You get a glimpse of the horror of Helene below.

New guidelines on passive euthanasia

The context: Passive euthanasia is when life support is withdrawn from terminally ill patients. The decision can be taken by the patient or by others if they are in a coma. But, but, but: In India, we do not have a fundamental right or law which grants the right to die (with dignity). Till now, passive euthanasia has been allowed on a case-by-case basis.

What happened now: The government has released the first draft of guidelines that suggest a long-drawn process:

Once the physician determines the inappropriateness of the life sustaining measures, it says, they will refer the case to the primary medical board. If the board reaches consensus then there will be another multidisciplinary meeting with family and a shared decision will be made.

The problem: The number of experts required is staggering. The primary medical board will have the patient’s doctor plus at least two subject experts with over five years of experience. The secondary medical board requires one registered medical practitioner—nominated by the Chief Medical Officer—and at least two other subject experts.

The worry: Many doctors are unhappy with the added onus placed on them:

Our job is to inform the patient or her or his family member about the condition and explain to them about the prognosis. After that, it is their call as to whether they want to continue life support or not. This guideline, however, intends to create a framework defining the role of doctors which is concerning for us.

The fear is that a convoluted formal process will make it even more difficult to withdraw care. Indian Express reports on the guidelines while Economic Times has more on the criticism.

Moving on to menstruation: A new study has found that women with Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) are 2-3X more likely to develop autoimmune disorders—such as type 1 diabetes, overactive thyroid, lupus, and inflammatory bowel disease. POI is when ovaries stop producing eggs before the age of 40—typically resulting in early menopause. FYI: POI is known to affect 1% of women around the world. (The Guardian)

‘Megalopolis’ is a mega-flop

Francis Ford Coppola’s $140 million magnum opus has earned only $4 million in ticket sales over its opening weekend. The flop will dent far more than Coppola’s ego:

Mr. Coppola, 85, spent decades on the avant-garde fable, ultimately selling part of his wine business to raise the necessary funds — about $120 million in production costs and another $20 million or so in marketing and distribution expenses.

The bit that may really bite:

“Megalopolis” played in nearly 2,000 theaters in the United States and Canada. As of Saturday evening, it was on pace to place sixth in the weekend box office derby, behind even “Devara Part 1,” a poorly reviewed, three-hour, Telugu-language action drama that was available in around 1,000 theatres.

Poor Francis—outdone by our very own NTR Jr!

Why this matters: Not many have sympathy for Coppola—after reports of his sexual misbehaviour on the ‘Megalopolis’ set. But his downfall reflects the larger challenge of making avant-garde cinema in a multiplex-driven world. Movies that are a bit hatke or challenging are no longer given time to build an audience. One bad week and the theatre chains move on to the next potential blockbuster. (New York Times, login required)

what caught our eye

business & tech

An update on the Tata Electronics plant fire incident in Tamil Nadu—production has been halted indefinitely at the plant to prevent further damage. The fire’s cause is still unknown, pending an investigation.
Mint (splainer gift link) has a must-read on why Tamil Nadu’s ‘texpreneurs’—or textile industry entrepreneurs—are unable to capitalise on the trend of global buyers shifting away from China and Bangladesh.
An update on the Boeing Starliner issue: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule—that is supposed to bring astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth—has arrived at the International Space Station. Check out our Big Story for more on Starliner.
When it rains, it pours for Elon Musk’s X—the social media platform is now worth less a quarter of the $44 billion Musk bought it for.
Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) has a must-read on how the tyranny of touch screens may be coming to an end, as even Apple is bringing back buttons.
The Indian stock market today is dominated by… Gen Z and millennials aged under 30, according to new data by the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

sports & entertainment

In a landmark deal, Hampshire County Cricket Club have sold the majority of their stakes to Delhi Capitals co-owners GMR Group. ESPNCricinfo has a cool insider’s look into the instrumental brokering role of former cricketer Kevin Pietersen.
After three days of truncated rain-affected play, the fourth day of the men’s Test match between India and Bangladesh in Kanpur saw records tumble—including India scoring the fastest ever team fifty in just 10.1 overs.
The Supreme Court has granted interim protection from arrest to Malayalam film actor Siddique in a rape case. Check out our Big Story for more on Mollywood’s MeToo moment.
Say hello to the MAMI film festival’s lineup for 2024—featuring acclaimed titles like ‘The Room Next Door’, ‘Emilia Perez’, ‘Santosh’, ‘Girls Will Be Girls’, and many more. The fest is slated for October 19 to 24.
The initial lineup for the 13th Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) is also out now—notable titles include documentary ‘Nocturnes’ and Palestinian-Norwegian co-production ‘No Other Land’. The fest will take place from November 7 to 10.
As part of the upcoming National Film Awards, iconic actor Mithun Chakraborty will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

as for the rest

Indian oil companies are enjoying a profit of Rs 15 per litre on petrol, while customers continue to wait for big price cuts.
A staggering 93% of Gen Z and Gen Alpha shape family travel plans in India today, according to a new report.
Around 30,000 Indians are yet to return from Southeast Asian countries, where they hold visitor visas and have reportedly been trapped in ‘cyber slavery’ (see: our Big Story).
The Supreme Court on Monday came to the rescue of a student—the son of a daily wage labourer belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC)—who missed admission to IIT Dhanbad as he couldn’t afford to pay Rs 17,500 on time.
The Madhya Pradesh government has recognised heatwaves as natural disasters, ensuring compensation for victims.
Mysuru’s famed Dasara Air Show is unlikely to return this year, but there will be a drone show as part of the festive celebrations.
Vietnam will free nearly 3,800 prisoners as part of its latest amnesty program. But, but, but: it won’t include those convicted for “terrorism” or “attempting to overthrow” the government.
Americans are more reliant than ever on government aid from programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—in light of an ageing population and economic problems.
The News Minute reports on a heartbreaking story of how medical negligence by a non-qualified ‘doctor’ in a private hospital in Kerala led to the death of a patient named Vinod Kumar.
New York Times (splainer gift link) has a must read on the horrific death of Sathnam Singh—a migrant fruit picker in Italy. When he lost his arm on the fields, his employer “dropped him off in front of his house with part of his arm in a fruit basket.” Check out our Big Story on Italy’s luxury brand sweatshops for more.

Four things to see

One: Just when you thought Trump merch couldn’t get more ridiculous… Say hello to the tasteful $100,000 beauties made of 18-carat gold—and encrusted with 122 diamonds. FYI: The ‘made in Swiss’ watches are most likely made in China. Sad. (The Guardian)

Two: Christian Louboutin literally made a splash with his line of stilettos during Paris Fashion Week—thanks to the French synchronised swimming Olympic team. (Vogue Singapore)

Three: Speaking of shoes, Diljit brought one of his fans on stage at his Manchester concert—to gift her a box of shoes. Then he gave this sweet speech when he learned she was Pakistani. (Deccan Herald)

Four: Lionel Messi scored this fantastic goal in the 67th minute during his club Inter Miami’s match against Charlotte FC—reaffirming his GOAT cred after being out for two months due to an ankle injury.

What also caught our eye: When celebrating his goal, he posed like the Marvel superhero Iron Man, for his kids.