Nykaa sues ex-CBO Gopal Asthana in Bombay High Court for alleged data theft, employee poaching

Nykaa Fashion has launched a legal battle against its former Chief Business Officer (CBO) Gopal Asthana, accusing him of breaching confidentiality agreements, misappropriating proprietary data, and attempting to harm its business by poaching former Nykaa staff. [Nykaa Fashion Ltd v. Gopal Asthana].In a petition filed before the Bombay High Court, Nykaa alleges that Asthana, who served as its CBO from November 2019 until recently, used confidential information to benefit Tata Cliq, which he now heads. The company claims that Asthana has actively sought to lure his former colleagues to Tata Cliq, with several Nykaa employees reportedly making the switch over the past year..Nykaa is seeking substantial financial compensation, including the return of ₹19 crore in stock options and employee stock option benefits that Asthana received. Additionally, the company is demanding ₹5 crore in damages related to the loss of goodwill and negative impact on business metrics. Nykaa is also asking the Court for an injunction to prevent Asthana from using any proprietary business data from Nykaa in his current role..During a hearing of the plea on September 4, Justice Arif Doctor reviewed the case and appointed Justice Akil Kureshi, former Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, as the sole arbitrator. This decision came after both parties agreed to resolve the dispute through arbitration.Nykaa argued that immediate interim relief was needed to prevent further misuse of data and damage to its business.Asthana did not contest the arbitration, but requested that interim relief be granted on a “without prejudice” basis. This means that while agreeing to interim measures, Asthana’s current employment situation and obligations would not be directly affected by the interim relief.The Court subsequently transformed the Section 9 petition (petition for interim relief) into an application under Section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which will be handled by Justice Kureshi. The arbitrator will oversee the resolution process, with both parties sharing the costs and the arbitration taking place in Mumbai..Senior Advocate Navroz Seervai, along with Advocate Tushar Hathiramani, and Advocates Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadodia, Sujoy Mukherji, and Deveesha Tudekar of Naik Naik & Co, appeared for Nykaa.Senior Advocate Zal Andhyarujina, with Advocates Karl Tamboly, Karan Bhide, Arup Perera, N Grewal, and Y Badani of Wadia Ghandy & Co represented Asthana..[Read order]