WhiteHat Jr demands confidential hearing against Pradeep Poonia to discuss advertising documents; Next hearing April 9

WhiteHat Jr. vs Pradeep Poonia: In the last hearing, on January 6, Pradeep Poonia presented his case. He requested documents from ASCI and National Consumer Helpline to know the complaints (and complainants) against WhiteHat Jr. He also demanded records of the child “Wolf Gupta” to present his side of the case. In fact, he has presented evidence against the company that it fakes reviews on the PlayStore app and through Twitter handles. Calling the requests “discovery”, Pradeep said that WhiteHat Jr opposed his requests. He also said that they didn’t want the documents out in open as they “must be scared of what might come”.

In today's hearing though, Adv Rajasekhar Rao (for WhiteHat Jr) opposed the application of Poonia to demand documents from third parties. Thus, Swathi Sukumar, Adv for Poonia read the relevant CPC rules and quoted the Commercial Courts Act on the issue. The court has granted 4 weeks to WhiteHat Jr to file a reply for the documents. The next hearing date is April 9.

What happened in the hearing?

The case was heard on February 1, in front of Delhi HC judge Justice Jayant Nath. Last time, he had directed WhiteHat Jr to place all documents on the record before the next date of hearing. She said, “I'm not seeking documents from the plaintiff. These are documents that the plaintiff might have had documents in control. I'm seeking documents from the Advertising Council of India. They are putting out false ads, said Sukumar. The prosecutor objected to the issuance of notice in applications for the production of documents by third parties. That is, he stated that he cannot produce documents from a third party but has to file applications for the same. The court has granted him 4 weeks for the same.

If the third party, i.e the Advertising Council of India does not give the documents, the court can summon then. Further, according to Poonia as per his LinkedIn post, the startup has asked for an 'in-camera' hearing whenever to discuss "confidential' documents.

What kind of documents has Poonia demanded?

Sukumar stated, “For a complete determination of issues and justify the grant of a partial injunction, the documents are central and crucial. Whether they continue to misrepresent to customers. The defence is the truth.”

The defence sought documents from Consumer Affairs helpline of complaints about overcharging. It also sought documents from YouTube and Twitter that they have taken down negative comments. “I need these documents to defend myself,” Sukumar said.

Further, on November 23, the Delhi HC had put a temporary gag order on Poonia. It restrained him from posting about the company on social media. Sukumar challenged the gag order. “We'll take it up when we hear the application for vacation of the interim order,” the Court told her.

About the WhiteHat Jr vs Critics Defamation Lawsuits

WhiteHat Jr has been in controversy since its $300 Mn acquisition by edtech giant Byju's in 2020. After the increasing dissent from 'whistle-blower' Pradeep Poonia and Aniruddha Malpani, WhiteHat Jr CEO and founder Karan Bajaj, in November 2020, filed defamation lawsuits for $2.3 Mn against Poonia and $1.9 Mn against angel investor Dr Aniruddha Malpani. In both cases, the company has cited copyright infringement and trademark violations. Further, it has also accused Poonia of hacking into WHJ communications.

The case against Aniruddha Malpani has not gone into the court yet.

Read the case followups here.