ShopClues case: HC passes gag order on Sandeep Aggarwal

He accused co-founders of firm, Radhika Aggarwal and Sanjay Sethi, of forgery and misappropriation of funds

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday passed an order disallowing Sandeep Aggarwal, co-founder of ShopClues, from taking any coercive action against his business partners Radhika Aggarwal and Sanjay Sethi.

Sandeep Aggarwal had filed an FIR against the duo on Tuesday, accusing them of misappropriation of funds, forgery, attempts to revoke his voting rights and undermine his contribution in building ShopClues.

It was the second such FIR Aggarwal had filed against his estranged wife and co-founders, with an earlier complaint being made to the Economic Wing of the Gurgaon Police.

While the court order does not ask for a stay on the investigation by the police into Sandeep Aggarwal's claims, it reads: "In the meantime, no coercive steps to be taken against the petitioner until the next date of hearing."

Sandeep Aggarwal was arrested by the FBI in July 2013 on insider trading charges in his previous organisation, for which he pleaded guilty in November 2013. Since his arrest, Aggarwal began distancing himself from ShopClues and even stepped down as the CEO to ensure that the company was not affected by the charges placed on him.

He then went on to start Droom, a startup in the used cars and bikes market which has raised $63 million in funding so far. In March this year, Aggarwal, in a rant against Facebook, accused his wife Radhika Aggarwal and partner Sanjay Sethi of forgery and cheating in an attempt to revoke his voting rights on the ShopClues board.

Radhika Aggarwal and Sanjay Sethi maintain that Sandeep Aggarwal lost his voting rights after pleading guilty in the insider trading case. Soon after Aggarwal's explosive post, the board of the company had released a statement reaffirming its trust in the management of Radhika Aggarwal and Sanjay Sethi.

The legal tussle between the founders of ShopClues comes ahead of the company's planned public listing next year.