Byju Raveendran has petitioned the Supreme Court to be heard before it addresses a likely plea by US lenders challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) decision to dismiss insolvency proceedings against Byju’s.
The petition was submitted on August 3, just one day after the NCLAT approved a settlement between Raveendran and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The US lenders objected to this settlement, claiming it was compromised and alleging that Raveendran was using funds ‘misappropriated’ from them to settle with BCCI.
The NCLAT noted that the settlement was reached before the Committee of Creditors (CoC) was formed and, given that the source of the settlement funds was undisputed, there was no reason to continue with the insolvency process.
Following the NCLAT order, Raveendran regained control of the company. Under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, control of the company is taken away from the existing board when a company enters the insolvency resolution process.
Due to a directive from the Karnataka High Court preventing Raveendran from disposing of personal assets, his brother Riju Raveendran has agreed to pay Rs 158 crore to BCCI. Riju has stated that this payment comes from personal funds earned from selling Think and Learn shares between 2015 and 2022. He also provided an undertaking detailing the source of these funds in response to objections from the US lenders.
On July 16, the NCLT admitted Think and Learn, Byju’s parent company, into the insolvency resolution process following a plea by BCCI. The tribunal appointed Pankaj Srivastava as the interim resolution professional to manage the company until the lenders form the Committee of Creditors.
The NCLT also rejected Byju’s request to refer the dispute to arbitration. According to a November 2023 order, BCCI claimed that Byju’s had defaulted on a Rs 158 crore payment. The NCLT noted that a general notice was sent to Byju’s on January 6, 2023, reflecting the default amount of Rs 158 crore, excluding TDS.
