Bjyu's-BCCI deal: Supreme Court stays NCLAT order that allowed BCCI to settle its Rs 158-cr dues with edtech firm

The Supreme Court has issued a stay on the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) decision to approve the settlement between Byju’s and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding unpaid dues amounting to Rs 158 crore. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud passed the order on a petition by Glass Trust Company LLC. It asked BCCI to maintain the Rs 158 crore in a separate escrow account till August 23 which is the next date of the hearing.

"Pending further orders there shall be a stay on the order. In the meantime BCCI shall maintain Rs 158 crores realised as settlement in a separate account," CJI DY Chandrachud said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the BCCI, argued against the appeal, stating that the stay would disrupt the ongoing settlement between the BCCI and Byju’s.

Earlier, NCLAT had quashed bankruptcy proceedings against Byju's after a settlement was reached between BCCI and the edtech company, under which Byju Ravindran agreed to pay off the company's dues from his personal funds.

The trustee for lenders of Byju’s, Glas Trust, has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the NCLAT order. It alleges that the funds being transferred to the cricketing authority by Riju Ravindran, brother of Byju Raveendran, founder of the company, are tainted. The amount owed to the lenders is $1.2 billion.

The consortium of lenders also filed a plea in the Bankruptcy Court of Delaware in the US but the petition was rejected on the grounds of non-interference with proceedings in another country’s judicial system.

Riju Raveendran, the brother and shareholder of Byju, had agreed to settle the outstanding payments using his personal funds, which were acquired from the sale of Think and Learn's shares over the period from 2015 to 2022.

“We are left with nothing, these two Raveendrans have voluntarily gone for insolvency in the US. There is nothing on record to show that they have any money. It can't be that there (US) you are a defaulter and here you come to India and say I'll pay," senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for the lenders had said.

The NCLAT approved the settlement on August 2, ending the bankruptcy proceedings against Byju's parent company, Think and Learn, and returning control of the company to its founder, Byju Raveendran.