Supreme Court Dismisses WeWork India's IPO Challenge

The Supreme Court has rejected a special leave petition challenging WeWork India's initial public offering (IPO) at the entry stage. A bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe declined to intervene in the Bombay High Court's decision dated December 1, 2025, which had dismissed separate writ petitions filed by Hemant Kulshrestha and Vinay Bansal against the public offering. The appeal to the Supreme Court was initiated by Hemant Kulshrestha. During the hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the petitioners, argued that the company allegedly failed to disclose certain criminal proceedings related to its promoters in the offering documents.

In opposition to the petition, senior advocate Darius Khambata, representing WeWork India, stated that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), as the statutory regulator, had reviewed and approved the offering documents in its capacity as an expert regulatory authority. After considering the arguments, the court dismissed the appeal. In its earlier ruling on December 1, 2025, the Bombay High Court had rejected the writ petitions challenging the IPO process. The High Court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on one of the petitioners, Vinay Bansal, noting that several crucial facts were not disclosed before the court, including the company's responses to the complaints that formed the basis of the challenge. The court remarked that the conduct of the petitioners raised doubts about their integrity. Records indicate that the petitions were filed in the High Court shortly before the IPO opened on September 30, 2025, despite the draft prospectus being publicly available for several months. Neither of the petitioners was an investor in the public offering.

After the IPO closed, a separate petition filed by Rishabh Agarwal was later unconditionally withdrawn in the Bombay High Court, and he was not permitted to file a new petition. This petition was based on complaints filed by Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Limited, which is involved in a separate commercial lawsuit with another company of the Embassy Group.

Following the Supreme Court's order, a spokesperson for WeWork India stated that the court dismissed the appeal at the first hearing, acknowledging the company's assertion that SEBI had reviewed and approved the offering documents in its capacity as an expert regulatory authority. The spokesperson noted that the petitioners were not granted any relief, effectively ending Hemant Kulshrestha's final challenge to the company's public offering.

The spokesperson further mentioned that the company had previously welcomed the Bombay High Court's decision to dismiss the petitions filed by Kulshrestha and Bansal, noting that the High Court had recorded findings regarding the concealment of significant facts and imposed a fine on one of the petitioners. According to the statement, the Supreme Court's dismissal of the appeal at the first hearing reinforces that the offering documents included necessary disclosures in compliance with applicable regulations.