Bombay High Court orders WhiteHat Jr to secure ₹80 lakh arbitral award owed to ex-employee

The Bombay High Court has ordered coding edu-tech company WhiteHat Education Technology Pvt Ltd. (WhiteHat Jr), a subsidiary of Think & Learn Pvt Ltd (Byju’s), to deposit ₹80.35 lakhs before the Court, to secure the amount payable to WhiteHat's former Head of Global Teacher Recruitment, Prashant Singh, under an arbitral award [Prashant Singh v. Whitehat Education Technology Pvt. Ltd and ors]..Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan passed the ad-interim order on September 22 on a petition filed by Singh under Section 9 (interim measures) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. .The petition was filed after an arbitral award was passed in Singh's favour in a dispute involving allegations of non-payment of salary and incentive payments by WhiteHat Jr. Singh's petition sought protection of the arbitral award granted on June 30, 2025, by a sole arbitrator, Advocate Nandini Singh Modi.The Court noted that WhiteHat Jr is a subsidiary of a company (Think & Learn) that is presently undergoing corporate insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016."Therefore, the Petitioner is rendered even more vulnerable by these circumstances," the Court observed.It, therefore, granted Singh's prayer for interim relief and ordered WhiteHat Jr. to secure the arbitral award by depositing ₹80.35 lakhs with the Court. .Singh joined WhiteHat Jr in 2020 as Head – Global Teacher Recruitment under an employment agreement dated May 26, 2020, later amended in August 2020 to include a performance-linked “Incentive Payout” in place of employee stock options. Disputes arose in mid-2023 when the company expressed its inability to honour the incentive payout.On August 1, 2023, the company abruptly terminated Singh’s employment via email, stating, “We are closing your contract with immediate effect.” Singh issued a legal notice in September 2023 claiming unpaid salary, incentives, and benefits amounting to ₹64.88 lakh. When no payment was made, he invoked the arbitration clause under the contract.The arbitral tribunal, constituted by order of the High Court dated August 27, 2024, later directed WhiteHat Jr to deposit ₹38.29 lakh in a separate account, which it failed to do. On June 30, 2025, the arbitrator ruled in Singh’s favour, directing payment of ₹72.35 lakh (principal amount plus interest till August 10, 2025) along with ₹8 lakh in costs, with 10 per cent annual interest till realization. The total amount came to ₹80.35 lakhs. .Before the High Court, Singh’s counsel argued that WhiteHat Jr’s financial position was precarious since its parent entity, Byju’s, was under insolvency resolution, and that immediate protection was essential to prevent the award from being rendered illusory.Justice Sundaresan observed that despite being served, none of the respondents — WhiteHat Jr, Byju Raveendran, or Riju Raveendran (Think & Learn's promoters) — had entered appearance. Granting ad-interim protection, the Court directed the respondents to:Secure the arbitral award by jointly depositing ₹80.35 lakh or furnishing a bank guarantee of equivalent value; Disclose, on affidavit, all movable, immovable, and intangible assets, including bank accounts, intellectual property, and shareholding interests in India and abroad; and Refrain from transferring, alienating, encumbering, disposing of, or in any manner dealing with any assets until the execution of the arbitral award is completed..The petitioner (Singh) was represented by Advocates Naira Jejeebhoy and Geetika Kapur, instructed by Advocate Biswadeep Chakravarty..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.