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| Photo Credit: Reuters

Appellate tribunal NCLAT has directed NCLT to decide within a week over BCCI’s plea for settlement and withdrawal of insolvency matter against ed-tech firm Byju’s.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain and Jatindranath Swain on Friday directed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) while disposing of the plea filed by Riju Raveendran against the previous order of the tribunal to reinstate Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance into the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Byju’s.

“The NCLT is directed to decide the application, preferably in a week’s time,” the NCLAT said.

However, the Chennai bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) also made clear it has not made any observations on the facts.

Riju Raveendran, former promoter of Byju’s and brother of Byju Raveendran has challenged the order of the Bengaluru bench of NCLT, which had on January 29 directed disciplinary proceeding against resolution professional of ed-tech firm and nixed his direction to exclude Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance from the edtech’s Committee of Creditors.

NCLT had directed the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to conduct an enquiry against Pankaj Srivastava, resolution professional of Think & Learn, which owns edtech firm Byju’s.

The tribunal had also cancelled the reconstitution of the Committee of Creditors (COC) of Byju’s, carried out by the Interim Resolution Professional on August 31, 2024, in which Srivastava had excluded Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance.

In his petition before NCLAT, Riju Raveendran submitted that NCLT should not have reconstituted when the matter for withdrawal of CIRP on account of settlement with BCCI is pending.

Raveendran contended that a settlement with BCCI was arrived even before the CoC was constituted.

He further submitted that the Supreme Court has granted them liberty to pursue appropriate Remedies following the settlement and NCLT’s order for reconstitution of CoC goes against it.

CIRP was initiated against Think & Learm, which operates in the edtech sector under the brand name Byju’s on July 16, 2024, under the directions of the Bengaluru bench of NCLT.

Later NCLAT set aside the insolvency after Byju’s promoter agreed to pay Rs 158 crore, unpaid by the edtech firm for the sponsorship rights.

However, this was challenged by Glas Trust, which represents US-based lenders before the Supreme Court, which set aside the NCLAT order and restored it.

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| Photo Credit: Reuters

In a major relief to Byju’s, the NCLAT on August 2 set aside insolvency proceedings against the troubled edtech major over a sponsorship deal and approved a ₹158 crore settlement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), however, passed the order with a caveat that any failure to make payments on the specific dates mentioned in the undertaking would automatically lead to a revival of the insolvency proceedings against Byju’s.

The appellate tribunal also dismissed the allegation of round-tripping levelled by Byju’s U.S.-based lenders, saying they failed to provide any evidence for the same.

The tribunal further said the money was paid by Riju Raveendran (brother of Byju Raveendran) through sales of his shares.

“In view of the undertaking given and affidavit, the settlement between the parties [is] approved and as a result appeal succeeds and impugned order [passed by the NCLT] is set aside,” said a two-member Chennai bench in its order in the open court.

As per the undertaking, Riju Ravindran has made a payment of ₹50 crore on July 31 against the outstanding dues owed by Byju’s to BCCI. Another ₹25 crore will be submitted on August 2, and the rest of ₹83 crore on August 9 through RTGS.

The NCLAT was hearing a petition filed by Byju’s, challenging the initiation of insolvency proceedings against parent company Think & Learn.

On July 16, the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed the initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Proceedings (CIRP) against Byju’s, admitting the plea filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The BCCI had approached the NCLT under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) over a default of ₹158.9 crore by Think & Learn — once India’s most valuable startup worth $22 billion.

The NCLT has suspended the board of Think & Learn as per the provisions of the IBC and appointed an interim resolution professional (IRP) to take care of the debt-ridden firm.