File photo of BharatPe’s Madhuri Jain (Image Source: Madhuri Jain Grover/Twitter @madsj30)
The BharatPe internal fiasco sees fresh developments after Madhuri Jain, head of controls at the company and wife of co-founder Ashneer Grover, wrote to the management that she never tendered the resignation it had accepted, The Economic Times reported on Friday.
The fintech start-up told ET that it “never sought any resignation” from Jain and hence its acceptance of such “does not arise”. The company, however, mentioned that Jain was asked to go on a compulsory leave of absence on January 20.
Several sources told the paper that confusion regarding Jain’s resignation arose between board members and the BharatPe top management after Grover offered her resignation at a board meeting on January 19 and this was recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Jain used to report to Grover.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. Jain and Grover did not respond to queries and BharatPe’s board Chairman Rajnish Kumar on February 17 said he would not comment on internal matters of the company.
Sequence of events
Sources say that since then, however, Grover has claimed the proposal of Jain’s resignation was a “spontaneous” decision and not agreed upon by all board members. In a communication on the minutes of the meeting, Grover said the resignation “would be decided after his return to the company”, they added.
Afterwards, Jain emailed the board, writing that her “alleged resignation was rather astonishing and defies known norms of corporate governance and propriety”, ET reported.
“Neither did I have any information about the same, nor have I tendered any such resignation. The ‘purported’ resignation was accepted by the board merely on account of my being Ashneer’s wife. I would like to take this opportunity to remind the board that I am the head of controls at the company, and that my role goes further than just being limited to being the wife of Ashneer,” the newspaper quoted her as saying.
Jain added that she would “formally resign once exonerated in a fair and independent review”.
She termed the current governance review a “roving enquiry aimed at tarnishing” her reputation and alleged that she has been “used as a pawn” in a fight among shareholders.
“I want to end by saying that I have been treated in the most disrespectful manner by the board. If this is the manner in which the company treats its female employees, I have no interest in continuing to be associated, in any capacity, with it. I would have willingly resigned, but for the fact that the integrity of not only myself but also my family members has been viciously attacked in the crossfire of what is evidently a shareholders’ dispute,” Jain said.
Sources told ET that BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer had on January 20 sought Jain’s resignation “informally” even before independent consultants Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) submitted its probe report.
This was also the day when Grover announced his “voluntary leave” till March 31, they added.
