Bombay High Court Directs WhiteHat Jr To Secure Rs 80.35 Lakh Arbitral Award In Favor Of Former Employee

The award was granted in an employment dispute following Singh's sudden termination from the company. The Court also directed the company's directors, Byju Raveendran and Riju Raveendran, to comply with the order.

A Single bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan passed the order on September 22, 2025, after hearing a plea seeking interim relief filed by Singh.

The Court granted ad-interim reliefs directing the respondents to deposit the full award amount or furnish a bank guarantee. It also asked them to disclose all assets and restrained them from selling or transferring any assets until the award is enforced.

WhiteHat Jr is an online coding education platform that offers live, one-on-one classes to school children. According to the petition, Singh was hired as Head of Global Teacher Recruitment in May 2020. His contract was amended in August 2020 to include performance-based incentives. On August 1, 2023, his employment was terminated without notice, one day after he declined to sign a release letter that required him to give up his financial claims.

This was followed by arbitration proceedings, and on June 30, 2025, the arbitrator awarded Singh over Rs 80 lakh. This included his unpaid salary, incentives, penalties, and other costs. WhiteHat Jr did not comply with earlier interim directions and stopped participating in the arbitration from February 2025.

Singh told the Court that there was a serious risk that the company and its directors would transfer or hide assets to avoid paying. He highlighted that Byju's parent company, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., is currently undergoing insolvency proceedings. He alleged that company promoters were siphoning off funds and not meeting legal obligations to employees. Singh also pointed to key assets, including a 17 percent stake held by Byju Raveendran in Aakash Educational Services Ltd., and other intellectual property, which he said could be used to secure the award.

The Court, agreeing with the petitioner and taking note of the respondents' absence, directed them to either deposit ₹80.35 lakh with the Court or provide a bank guarantee from a scheduled bank. It also directed them to file affidavits disclosing all their assets, including properties, shareholdings, bank accounts, and intellectual property, both in India and abroad. They have been barred from transferring or dealing with any assets until the award is enforced.

The matter will be heard again on November 27, 2025.

Case Title: Prashant Singh v Whitehat Education Technology Pvt. Ltd. & Ors

Case Number: ARBITRATION PETITION (L) NO.26263 OF 2025

For Petitioner: Advocate Naira Jejeebhoy along wth advocate Geetika Kopur instructed by advocate Biswadeep Chakravarty

Click here to read/download order