DBT Bureau
Bengaluru, 14 August 2024
The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order that allowed settlement between the edtech firm Byju’s and BCCI.
Earlier, the NCLAT in an order approved the settlement between Byju’s and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over unpaid dues of Rs 158 crore.
This stay can be seen as a setback to the edtech firm, which is in a legal fight with its creditors over multiple issues including management control, unpaid dues and others.
The Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud ordered the Rs 158 crore that Byju’s had paid to the BCCI to be kept in a separate escrow account. This amount will be kept in the escrow account till August 23 on which next hearing will take place.
The NCLAT order was challenged by Glas Trust – the trustee for lenders to which Byju’s owes $1.2 billion. Glas Trust is opposing the edtech firm’s settlement with BCCI as it has alleged that the money paid to the BCCI by Riju Ravindran, who is the brother of the company’s founder Byju Raveendran, was tainted.
In an earlier order, the NCLAT had dismissed the bankruptcy proceedings against Byju’s after the edtech firm reached a settlement with BCCI.
Byju’s is fighting a legal battle against a section of its lenders who are looking at recovering their money from the edtech major.
Earlier this month, a US court refused to block Byju’s settlement payment to BCCI, telling American lenders to take their complaints about the transaction to a court in the home country of the educational tech firm.
