Ashneer Grover, who shot to fame with his outspokenness on Shark Tank show, has once again landed in a controversy for allegedly asking a comedian to take down a roast show he was a part of.

Co-founder and ex managing director of fintech startup BharatPe, Ashneer Grover was frequenty embroiled in controversies when he appeared on Shark Tank India season one.

He recently appeared in a popular comedy show called ‘Pretty Good Roast’ hosted by comedian Aashish Solanki. In the roast, Solanki did some jokes on Ashneer Grover’s removal from his own company BharatPe, a clip of which is now in wide circulation on social media.

The comedian revealed that the jokes didn’t sit well with the guest and he asked his bits to be removed from the video. Later, Solanki also received a legal notice to take down the entire video. The comedian obliged.

“Friends, I have removed the Ep 5 of Pretty Good Roast. I don’t have money to fight the legal battle. I had spent all of it on the show,” comedian Ashish Solank said in a post on his Instagram.

“The response on previous episodes led us to believe our audience were ready for roast humor. However, it seems that some, especially those in power, are not quite there yet,” he added.

The incident has sparked outrage among social media users who are calling out Ashneer Grover for his “doglapan” (duplicity), a word Ashneer Grover became popular for during Shark Tank, which also became the title of his book ‘Doglapan: The Hard Truth about Life and Start-Ups’.

Soon after Shark Tank season 1 in 2022, Ashneer Grover and his wife were removed from BharatPe over allegation of funds misappropriation.

After his short TV stint, Ashneer Grover turned to content creation on social media and featured in Instagram reels, YouTube video and podcasts with several content creators. He once said that he has made more money creating content on social media then he did during his entrepreneurial journey.

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked payment app BharatPe’s former MD Ashneer Grover not to transfer or create any third-party rights in the shares transferred to him by the company’s co-founder Bhavik Koladiya.

Justice Prateek Jalan passed the interim order on a lawsuit by Mr Koladiya seeking to reclaim the shares he transferred to his erstwhile colleague.

The judge opined that the plaintiff, Mr Koladiya, made out a prima facie case for the grant of such an injunction as he would suffer irreparable loss and prejudice if third-party rights were created in the shares being claimed by him.

“Defendant No.1 (Grover) is therefore restrained from transferring or creating any third-party rights in the Suit Shares, or any rights accrued or which may accrue to him as a consequence thereof, until the disposal of the suit,” the court in its order.

“It is made clear that the observations and findings in this judgment have been recorded only for disposal of this application and are not intended to prejudice the parties at trial,” clarified the court.

Mr Koladiya and Shashvat Nakrani founded BharatPe in July 2017, although the firm was not incorporated till March 2018. Mr Grover had joined the company in June 2018 and resigned in March 2022.

Last January, Mr Koladiya had approached the high court claiming that he had sold to Mr Grover his 1,600 shares whose total value was around Rs 88 lakh but no money was paid to him.

He had said the shares have now become 16,000 and the title need not pass to Mr Grover and that he was asking for his goods back which he had given.

The court had then issued a summons to Mr Grover while noting his counsel’s submission that he would not create any third-party rights in the 16,110 shares in question under further orders of the court.

Mr Koladiya, in his interim application, had sought an interim injunction restraining Mr Grover from creating any third-party rights in the shares which are the subject matter of the suit.

The application was opposed by Grover’s counsel.

Mr Koladiya, who ran the fintech firm’s technology and product divisions, had stepped down in 2022.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Take care and take a break, investor Ashneer Grover advised Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath who announced today that he suffered a mild stroke some weeks ago.  

“Around 6 weeks ago, I had a mild stroke out of the blue. Dad passing away, poor sleep, exhaustion, dehydration, and overworking out – any of these could be possible reasons,” said 44-year-old Nithin Kamath, in a post on X.

 Soon after Mr Kamath’s post, wishes poured in from the industry.

“Dude – take care. Most likely you are deeply affected because of passing away of your dad – it got me too after my dad’s demise – I simply collapsed one day. Take a break!” ace investor Ashneer Grover, co founder of BharatPe, posted.

“My goodness, this has been a super tough time for you Nithin, take it easy and wish you the best to be healthy and smiling soon!” posted Deepak Shenoy, founder, Capital Mind CEO.

“Hey buddy. Take care. Here if you need anything. Wish you a speedy recovery. Admire your resilience,” said Bhavin Turakhia, founder Zeta suite, provider of next-gen credit card processing platform.

Mr Kamath said he was recovering but still “getting my treadmill count” and posted two contrasting pictures – one on his hospital bed and in another on a treadmill to drive home the message. 

Around 6 weeks ago, I had a mild stroke out of the blue. Dad passing away, poor sleep, exhaustion, dehydration, and overworking out —any of these could be possible reasons.

I’ve gone from having a big droop in the face and not being able to read or write to having a slight droop… pic.twitter.com/aQG4lHmFER

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) February 26, 2024

“I’ve gone from having a big droop in the face and not being able to read or write to having a slight droop but being able to read and write more. From being absent-minded to more present-minded. So, 3 to 6 months for full recovery.

“I wondered why a person who’s fit and takes care of himself could be affected. The doctor said you need to know when you need to shift the gears down a bit,” he added.