In yet another blow to Stayzilla co-founder and CEO Yogendra Vasupal, his bail plea was rejected by the Principal Sessions court in Chennai on Tuesday evening. CFO Sanchit Singhi’s anticipatory bail plea was also dismissed by the court. Vasupal has now spent about two weeks in custody.
This comes four days after a special metropolitan magistrate court of the Central Crime Branch-CBCID in Chennai rejected Vasupal’s bail plea, on March 24.
On March 14, Vasupal was arrested after Chennai-based advertising firm Jig Saw Solutions’ owner Aditya CS filed a case against him for non-payment of dues to the tune of Rs 1.7 crore.
Following the arrest of Vasupal, reports suggested that the police was also looking for Singhi. He could also be arrested by the police now.
On February 24, Stayzilla suspended operations claiming that it will restructure itself and reboot operations. Following this, Aditya claimed that the company has not paid him his dues since January 2016 and filed a case against Vasupal and Singh. Vasupal was arrested on March 14 but had also put out a blog saying he was being harassed by his landlord and by Jig Saw Solutions. Voodoo dolls were sent to the CFO's house.
The startup founder community and industry bodies have been speaking out in support of Vasupal, claiming that his arrest, and the way the matter has been dealt with, will prove to be a deterrence to any aspiring entrepreneur. They had urged the Home Minister and relevant authorities to ensure justice is served and the hearing of his bail plea is expedited.
Following increasing pressure from the startup community and industry bodies to intervene in the matter, Karnataka’s IT Minister Priyank Kharge said on Saturday that no industry is above the law and that everyone including startups and vendors should function within the parameters. Anybody raising money should pay up, he said.
Kharge told PTI that the controversy has been blown out of proportion. “However, the advice I would give in this whole episode is that there are rules and regulations for everyone – whether it is for SMEs, startups or big corporations. If you have raised or taken money, you have to pay up. You cannot say I will not pay,” he added.