IPO-bound Cult.fit faces a co-founder's forgery claim over the 'CULT' trademark ahead of its ₹4,000 crore listing
A co-founder of the original CULT gym has asked the Madras High Court to cancel the trademark, alleging the 2017 transfer papers were forged.
- IPO size: ~₹4,000 crore
- Fresh issue: ₹950 crore
- Court dates: 16 Nov and 2 Dec
The case
Deepak Poduval, a co-founder of the original CULT gym, has petitioned the Madras High Court to cancel the CULT trademark held by cultfit Healthcare, alleging the 2017 transfer deeds were forged. He has also sued in a Bengaluru commercial court, with the next hearing on 16 November, and filed a police complaint in August against Cult co-founder Rishabh Telang. The Madras HC matter is listed for 2 December.
Cult.fit's side
The company denies forgery, says Poduval signed the deeds and was paid, and notes it is not an accused in the police case. In a reply to a SEBI complaint, it accepted that its draft IPO papers misdescribed who owns the trademark and said it will correct this. The IPO is expected to be around ₹4,000 crore, including ₹950 crore of fresh shares.
