BCCI in settlement talks with Byju’s over repayment of dues

The Board of Control from Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that it is in talks with beleaguered edtech company, Byju’s, over repayment of pending dues of Rs 158 crore. This comes after National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Karnataka ordered insolvency proceedings against Byju’s following an appeal by BCCI against Byju’s over non-payment of dues on July 16.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for BCCI said that the matter may be heard tomorrow as 'some talks are on' between both the parties. The NCLT adjourned the case to July 31.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the US-based lenders said that their plea was disposed of after the insolvency order and sought to appeal the order. The tribunal said all applications will be heard on July 31.

On July 28, the Karnataka High Court had deferred CEO Byju Raveendran’s plea seeking suspension of the insolvency order against Think and Learn Pvt Ltd.

Byju Raveendran filed two petitions in the Karnataka High Court seeking to challenge the validity of the order as well as seek suspension of the order till NCLT hears the appeal. 

A court-appointed professional is currently managing Byju's. The NCLT, admitting a plea by the BCCI on July 16, stated that it cannot be disputed that Byju's parent company had availed the services of the cricket board and defaulted on the payment. The tribunal appointed Pankaj Srivastava as the interim resolution professional to oversee the management of Byju's. Following the order, Byju’s had stated that it would challenge the insolvency proceedings order against it.

Byju Raveendran stated that the proceedings will force thousands of employees to quit, resulting in total shutdown of its services. The insolvency process will likely cause vendors who provide critical services to Byju's for the upkeep of online platforms to declare a default, "leading to a total shutdown of services" and bringing the operation to "a grinding halt," Raveendran said in the court appeal seeking to quash the insolvency process. In the filing, Raveendran had said that he was ready to pay BCCI’s dues in 90 days.

Byju's has around 27,000 employees, including 16,000 teachers.