Calcutta HC confirms Spartan Poker settlement, all pending cases to be withdrawn

Exclusive The Calcutta High Court in its order on 28th June, has confirmed that the Rajat Agarwal (PokerGuru) and Amin Rozani  (Indian Poker Championship) factions of Spartan Poker have reached an amicable settlement on 20th June, 2018.

A single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising of Justice Soumen Sen in an order dated 28th June, 2018, accepted the ‘Terms of Settlement’ signed by the parties involved in the bitter legal battle over the Spartan Poker business and brand name.

Justice Sen in his order, recorded the withdrawal of the civil suit filed by Rajat Agarwal against Rozani, Spartan Online Pvt. Ltd. and other parties and noted:

“During the pendency of the interlocutory applications the parties have agreed to settle their disputes and have entered into a Terms of Settlement dated 20.6.2018. The Terms of Settlement has duly been signed by the parties and their respective attorneys.

The Terms of Settlement appears to be lawful and in accordance with the order XXIII rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Code. The Court is satisfied with the Terms of Settlement filed in Court today and the said Terms of Settlement is taken on record. Accordingly, the decree is passed on the basis of original Terms of Settlement dated 20.6.2018 filed today.”

The signing of the settlement agreement and its acceptance by the court brings to end a long and bitter dispute, dating back to 2016, between Agarwal on one side and Rozani and his partners on the other.

Glaws had first reported two weeks ago that the two-year old dispute between Agarwal and Rozani was heading towards an amicable settlement and the formal ratification of the same could be expected in the next few days.

It is understood that the settlement would involve withdrawal of all pending cases filed by either faction against the other, that includes the defamation suit filed by the Rozani faction against Agarwal, criminal cases of cheating, breach of trust and misuse of digital identity against Agarwal and his father Bal Krishan Agarwal, trademark claims by either party etc.

It is likely that the amicable resolution involved payment of some settlement amount by the Rozani faction to Agarwal to withdraw his claim of partnership share in the Spartan Poker business, although neither party was willing to confirm the exact details of the settlement.

Confirming that a settlement had been arrived at with Agarwal, The Spartan Poker Managing Director Amin Rozani said, “It’s always a relief to be out of legal processes. The efforts (spent in legal processes) can (now) be diverted in giving higher value and better services to the poker players.”

Agarwal declined to offer any comments regarding the settlement.