L&L Partners will collapse if I don't come back: Mohit Saraf presses for last uncontested status quo before Delhi High Court

Mohit Saraf today argued before the Delhi High Court that he was only seeking the restoration of "last uncontested status" at L&L Partners while he and Founding Partner Rajiv Luthra refer their disputes to arbitration (Mohit Saraf v. Rajiv Luthra)..Appearing for Saraf, Senior Advocate Parag P Tripathi pleaded before a Single Judge Bench of Justice V Kameswar Rao, ."I'm saying that save the last uncontested status quo. If I don't come back, the firm will collapse. Let the matter go to arbitration. Let there be a Section 17 as well...till then, let there be the last uncontested status quo. I'm not asking for the sky. I'm asking for the very least that let me continue as a partner.".In his rejoinder submissions before the Court, Tripathi asserted that the core of the issue was that one partner claimed to have expelled the other partner and it was to be seen if he had the power to do so.."What is the core issue here? It is not who is a good human being. Who has hurt whom?", he said. .During the course of the hearing, Tripathi also expressed his displeaure over the "character assassination" of Saraf and remarked, ."In my opening, I was the most restrained...but an attempt has been made to destroy Saraf's character. The whole purpose was to create prejudice. Here is a man who is outstanding and continues to be outstanding...I'm still using a restraint on language. We are not talking of terrorists. We are talking about two partners.".Tripathi informed the Court that after Saraf joined the firm in the 90s, he took the firm's turnover from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 10 crore in a matter of four years, and therefore, his induction as a partner was not an act of graciousness on the part of Luthra. .Stating that the turnover of L&L had gone up to Rs. 260 crore, Tripathi added, ."It is not the charity that was done to me. It was purely corporate work...I had the ability to generate work. I was the dynamo.".It was also reiterated that there was no master-servant relationship in the partnership deed and that Luthra and Saraf were equals. .Rajiv Luthra and Mohit Saraf in an unequal marriage; Luthra has special rights: Abhishek Manu Singhvi argues before Delhi High Court.Tripathi also argued that there was a complete breach of bona fides on the part of Luthra and the same was visible from his conduct. .He contended that the partnership deed gave no power to Luthra to "expel" him and that the two mandatory 90-day notices were not served on him for termination of the firm. .Tripathi also clarified that the name, the assets, and the clients of L&L belonged to the firm itself, and that it was the "shared right of partners". .Saraf moved the High Court after he was removed from the L&L partnership by Luthra in October 2020. .Whereas the High Court had initially suggested that the parties refer their dispute to mediation, the matter found its back to the Court after mediation talks failed to make any headway..Read the entire account of the hearing here:.Mohit Saraf v. Rajiv Luthra: LIVE UPDATES from Delhi High Court [Day 4]