Policy · Financial Services

Delhi HC restrains Unity SFB from raising authorized capital amid dispute

By Startup Enthusiast · 28 July 2026

What they do

BharatPe holds a 49% stake in Unity Small Finance Bank, co-founded with Centrum Financial Services

The Delhi High Court blocked the bank from increasing authorized share capital from ₹4,000 Cr to ₹4,900 Cr to prevent dilution

Unity SFB argues that warrants issued in 2021 for conversion to CCPS do not grant immediate voting rights

The Delhi High Court granted interim relief to BharatPe against Unity Small Finance Bank on July 24.
The court restrained Unity SFB from increasing its authorized share capital or amending its Memorandum of Association.
The proposed capital raise would increase authorized capital from ₹4,000 Cr to ₹4,900 Cr.
BharatPe argues this move violates their shareholders’ agreement signed in 2021.
The company claims the proposal could dilute its shareholding from 49% to approximately 21%.
The court allowed the bank’s board meeting to proceed on all other agenda items except the restricted ones.
Unity SFB must submit its response within four weeks, followed by BharatPe’s rejoinder.

The dispute stems from a shareholders’ agreement between Resilient Innovations (BharatPe parent) and Centrum Financial Services.
BharatPe declined participation in earlier warrant issuances despite the bank needing additional capital.
Reports indicate BharatPe is exploring monetization of its Unity SFB investment to strengthen its balance sheet.
The case highlights tensions between founders and promoters regarding control and dilution in joint ventures.

BharatPe operates a digital payments ecosystem including UPI and POS terminals.
It offers business loans, personal loans, and credit card bill payment services.
The company facilitates over Rs. 1700+ Billion in total payment volume annually.
It has more than 17 million merchant partners across 450+ cities.
BharatPe also provides investment products through Zillion Invest and BharatPe One.
Himanshu Verma was appointed Head of POS Business in March 2026.
The company launched the Super Over campaign with Rohit Sharma ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup.

Product: Merchant-focused payments and financial services platform, including payment aggregation and lending-related products.
Customers: Merchants and small businesses that use its payments and financial services tools.
How it makes money: Earns from financial services and merchant transaction-linked offerings, including payments infrastructure and lending-related services.
What sets it apart: Strong merchant distribution and a broad payments stack built for small businesses.
Operations: Operates through a merchant network and also has a stake in Unity Small Finance Bank.