IndiGo Co-Founder Rahul Bhatia Moves Courts In United States Against His Estranged Partner Rakesh Gangwal

The feud between IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation) co-founders Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal has reached the US shores.

IndiGo co-founder Rahul Bhatia has sought the intervention of courts in Florida and Maryland against his partner co-founder Gangwal.

He has also sought damages and information related to the arbitration proceedings he initiated in London as Gangwal is based in Florida and another IndiGo Director Anupam Khanna lives in Maryland.

It may be recalled that along with Gangwal, Khanna was also vocal about the alleged corporate governance issues in IndiGo airlines.

The latest move has come shortly after Bhatia moved the London Court of International Arbitration against Gangwal and the latter's RG Group.

In his filing, Bhatia has alleged that Gangwal breached the shareholders’ agreement and Articles of Association.

Incidentally, these developments follow months of acrimonious exchanges between the two which went public after Gangwal approached the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI). He had alleged corporate governance violations at IndiGo, which included related-party transactions between IndiGo and Bhatia’s company IGE.

Gangwal had also alleged that Bhatia's company IGE had an influence over the appointment of directors and senior management, thereby controlling the airline's operations.

However, after the airline's board amended its policy on related-party transactions and also expanded the board, for a while it seemed as though the co-founders had made peace with each other.