Glas Trust has opposed the Rs 158.9 crore settlement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) alleging that the money paid by Riju Raveendran (brother of Byju Raveendran) was tainted and was a case of “two-way dealing”.
Anticipating the US-based creditor challenging the NCLAT order before the Supreme Court, Byju Raveendran had filed a caveat seeking to be heard before the top court passes any order on a plea filed by the US-based creditors.
A caveat application is filed by a litigant to ensure that no order is made against him without being heard.
On Friday, a two-member bench of the NCLAT approved the Rs 158.9 crore debt settlement with the BCCI and set aside insolvency proceedings against the edtech major, initiated over a claim filed by the cricket body.
The NCLAT had observed that the agreement was reached between the parties before the Committee of Creditors (CoC) could be constituted and that the source of payment being made is “not in dispute” nor related to foreign funds as claimed by the US-based creditors.
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“In view of the undertaking given and the affidavit filed, the settlement between the parties is approved and as a result, the appeal succeeds and the impugned order (passed by the NCLT) is set aside,” a Chennai-based two-member bench of the NCLAT said. The court further said the money was paid by Riju Raveendran (brother of Byju Raveendran) through sale of his shares, the taxes have been duly paid and the payment is being made through proper banking channels.
As per the undertaking, Riju Raveendran made a payment of Rs 50 crore on July 31, 2024, against the outstanding dues owed by Byju’s to BCCI. Another Rs 25 crore will be released on Friday and the remaining Rs 83 crore on August 9 through RTGS.
The appeals court also dismissed the allegation of “back and forth” levelled by Byju’s US-based lenders, saying they did not provide any evidence to back their claims.
On July 16, the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ordered initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Proceedings (CIRP) against Byju’s, admitting the petition filed by BCCI.
The BCCI had approached the NCLT under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) over a default of Rs 158.9 crore by Think & Learn.
This NCLT order was challenged by Byju Raveendran before the NCLAT.
Byju’s, a storied edtech startup, was once valued at $22 billion, but the reopening of schools after the easing of pandemic restrictions caused it to collapse. BlackRock recently cut its valuation by $1 billion.
The company’s troubles began when it missed financial reporting deadlines two years ago and missed revenue projections by more than 50 percent.
In February, a group of investors in Byju’s parent company Think & Lean, including Prosus and Peak XV, voted to remove Raveendran as CEO during an extraordinary general meeting, citing allegations of “mismanagement and lapses”. Raveendran had denied all the allegations.
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