[BREAKING] Only virtual access to L&L Partners for Mohit Saraf: Delhi High Court lays down interim arrangement

The Delhi High Court has said that during the pendency of Rajiv Luthra's appeal against the order of the Single Judge, Mohit Saraf shall not be entitled to physically access the offices of L&L Partners. (Rajiv Luthra vs Mohit Saraf).The Court has nonetheless directed Rajiv Luthra to immediately restore Mohit Saraf's access to the law firm's e-mail ID and restrained the former from directly or indirectly interfering with the latter servicing the clients of the law firm..We are of the opinion that allowing physical access to Saraf, as of today, is likely to lead to an ugly situation, a Division Bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Sanjeev Narula has opined. .Rajiv Luthra has further been restrained from directly or indirectly preventing or otherwise restricting Saraf's s access to and use of the Delhi firm's IT infrastructure such as personal laptop, desktop, e-mail, domain name, servers, database, software subscriptions. ."(Mohit Saraf) shall be entitled to the said access, not from the offices of the law firm but remotely from his home or from any other place he may desire and his personal laptop and desktop if not already with the respondent shall be forthwith delivered to the respondent through his advocate.", the order reads. .In its short order passed in the matter, the Court has said that Luthra and Saraf shall use all the information on the law firm's such system for the bona fide use of and in the benefit of the law firm. .They are, however, restrained from putting the information including the client information to any other use and are also restrained from divulging the same to any other person or use the same to the prejudice of the law firm. .Additionally, both Saraf and Luthra are restrained from:- making any communication in any manner whatsoever to any person, prejudicial to the affairs of the law firm or prejudicial to each other (save before the Court / Arbitral Tribunal);- inducting any new partners/associates or any other personnel and / or from adding to a regular financial liability of the law firm;- doing any other act towards changing the status as existing immediately prior to the filing of the petition and if already changed since then, as existing today; and, - from interfering in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly in performance by each other or by any other advocate or personnel of the law firm, of their respective roles in discharge of their duties and in servicing the clients and affairs of the law firm..To decide the appeal, the Court has directed Rajiv Luthra to submit an affidavit furnishing accounts of the law firm, with effect from October 13, 2020 till date, in a sealed cover..In the end, the Court has implored the two senior partners to "wear their lawyer's hat and attempt to either revive the partnership or amicably part ways”. ."We also implore upon the parties to instead of their personal hats, wear their lawyer‟s hat and instead of airing their disputes in public and in the Court, attempt to either revive the partnership or amicably part ways in the spirit of give and take and realize that what is going on, in the long run will not benefit either. This is the least expected by the clients of the law firm from their advocates and advisors.", the Court has said..On January 18, the Single Judge stayed the termination of Saraf from the firm's partnership pending the conclusion of arbitration proceedings between him and Luthra.Luthra subsequently filed an appeal before the High Court and prayed that status quo be maintained pending the disposal of the appeal.Earlier this week, the Court urged the counsel for both parties to come up with an interim arrangement for the firm, pending the disposal of the appeal..After hearing the senior counsel for Luthra and Saraf, the Court had decided to pass appropriate directions in the case. .Senior Advocates Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Neeraj Kishan Kaul, A.S. Chandhiok, Gopal Shankarnarayanan with Advocates Haripriya Padmanabhan, Pooja Dhar, Zeeshan Diwan, Shrutunjay Bhardwaj appeared for Luthra. .Senior Advocates Parag P. Tripathi, Vikas Singh, Arvind Nigam with Advocates Promod Nair, Apoorv Tripathi, Srinivasan Ramaswamy, Raghvendra Singh, Deepeika Kalia, Shailendera Singh, Abhishek Gupta appeared for Saraf..Read the Order: