Edtech Startup Saarthi Drags Classplus To Court For Cheating

Saarthi has taken legal action against Classplus, SaaS startup, by filing a lawsuit and a police complaint. The lawsuit contains a comprehensive list of grave allegations, which include cheating, extortion, criminal breach of trust, mental harassment, defamation, theft of immovable property, misappropriation of funds, and more.

The allegations, spanning a wide range of serious offences, raise concerns about the integrity of the business dealings between the two companies. These allegations encompass cheating, extortion, threat to life, criminal breach of trust, mental harassment, criminal intimidation, defamation, theft of immovable property, criminal conspiracy, and misappropriation of funds.

The controversy traces back to late 2021 when the founders of Saarthi and Classplus first engaged. In October of that year, an acquisition proposal was presented, with seemingly advantageous terms for Saarthi. This transaction involved a complex transfer of business operations and employees from Saarthi to Classplus. Subsequently, this transition occurred swiftly, with Saarthi's co-founder, Chiraag Kapil, assuming a crucial executive role within Classplus.

However, a few weeks later, Kapil was unexpectedly terminated, leading to a series of events that have now resulted in legal actions. Furthermore, investors associated with Saarthi have not received their stipulated agreements or the corresponding equity they were entitled to. Both Kapil and the aggrieved investors have lodged legal and criminal complaints, naming Classplus and its founders, Mukul Rustagi and Bhaswat Agarwal, along with the Chief Financial Officer, Sankalp Aggarwal, as the responsible parties.

The acquisition proposal negotiations between Saarthi and Classplus commenced in November 2021. According to the lawsuit, the two entities had already started collaborative efforts by that point, working almost as a unified entity. However, in December 2021, when the term sheet was finally presented, the stipulated clauses diverged from the terms that had been previously discussed.

Saarthi’s claims assert that the imbalanced nature of the negotiations and the subsequent events left them in a disadvantaged position. By February 2022, Classplus allegedly had access to Saarthi's proprietary information, workforce, intellectual property, and database, even prior to formalizing any official agreements.