Sequoia Capital India has asked a local court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by one of its former general counsels, saying it was an attempt to curb its free speech rights and harm its interests, the venture capital firm's court filing shows.
Sequoia has been locked in a legal battle with Sandeep Kapoor, after he included the company in a defamation lawsuit against media companies that reported on a leaked Sequoia email of June 2. Mr. Kapoor was Sequoia's in-house general counsel for nearly nine years until 2019.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of troubles for Sequoia that have the company grappling with complaints from startups about damaged trust following high-profile governance scandals at some of its portfolio companies in India and Southeast Asia.
