Bombay High Court Issues Interim Order Against Gopal Asthana In Nykaa Contract Breach Case

Bombay High Court Issues Interim Order Against Gopal Asthana In Nykaa Contract Breach Case

Beauty and fashion product retailer Nykaa has filed a lawsuit against its former Chief Business Officer, Gopal Asthana, who now leads Tata Digital’s fashion business, Tata Cliq. Nykaa accuses Asthana of breaching confidentiality, misappropriating proprietary data, and attempting to undermine its business. The company claims that Asthana approached several former Nykaa employees, whom he managed, to join Tata Cliq, with some making the transition over the past year.

In its petition to the Bombay High Court, Nykaa alleges that it paid Asthana a substantial remuneration package, including long-term incentives and stock options. The company seeks to recover approximately Rs 19 Crores in employee stock option benefits granted to him, along with an additional Rs 5 Crores for loss of goodwill and other business metrics. Nykaa also requested the court to prevent Asthana from using any Nykaa business data for his role at Tata Cliq.

On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court issued an interim order prohibiting Asthana from hiring executives from Nykaa for Tata Cliq. Nykaa, led by Falguni Nayar, has not included Tata Digital as a party in the lawsuit.

Asthana, who was a chief executive at Tata’s ecommerce venture and served as Nykaa’s CBO for four years, also sat on the company’s board. Nykaa's petition highlights that his high-level position granted him access to confidential business data. Despite having a non-compete agreement, Nykaa allowed Asthana to join a direct competitor. He began his role at Tata Cliq in June 2023, after a three-month garden leave following his departure from Nykaa. Before joining Nykaa, Asthana spent over 21 years at Shoppers Stop in various roles.

Asthana described the allegations as “incorrect” and expects them to be disproven in arbitration.

“However, since the matter is sub-judice, I can’t comment on the same. The matter is between my former employer and me, and my current employer is not a party in the matter and therefore best left out in the discussion,” Asthana added

Nykaa and Tata Cliq are direct competitors in the fashion, beauty, and accessories sectors, with other players including Reliance’s Ajio, Flipkart’s Myntra, and Amazon Fashion. Tata Cliq is a key vertical of Tata Neu, the Tata Group's superapp, which emphasizes fashion as a high-frequency category. Nykaa recently projected a 20% year-on-year revenue growth in its fashion segment.