In the Religare ESOP case, the ED summoned Senior Advocate Pratap Venugopal over a legal opinion obtained by Care Health Insurance from Arvind Datar concerning ESOPs issued to ex-Religare chairperson Rashmi Saluja. Investigation continues.
The Enforcement Directorate summoned Senior Advocate Pratap Venugopal regarding legal advice he obtained from Arvind Datar for Care Health Insurance concerning the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) issued to former Religare Enterprises chairperson Rashmi Saluja.
Venugopal informed The Economic Times that he sought this opinion in his capacity as Advocate-on-Record and Partner at K J John and Co.
He stated,
“I thereafter resigned as a partner with effect from 31.01.2025, when I was designated as a Senior Advocate on 19.01.2025, as required by the Senior Advocates Designation Rules.”
Sources close to the situation told that Venugopal did not charge any fees from Care Health Insurance.
The summons issued to him requires the submission of all records related to communications between him and Care Health Insurance Ltd (CHIL) or M/s Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) regarding the legal opinion for granting ESOPs to Dr. Saluja after the initial rejection by IRDAI.
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Additionally, Venugopal must provide details of any payments made by M/s CHIL, M/s REL, or associated entities for the legal services rendered. He is expected to appear before the ED Assistant Director in Mumbai on June 27.
Earlier, reported that the ED had also summoned Arvind Datar regarding his legal advice to Care Health Insurance concerning the ESOP issued to Dr. Saluja, although that summons was later reportedly withdrawn following public criticism.