BYJU’S Insolvency: NCLAT Directs NCLT To Clear BCCI’s Plea In A Week

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) reportedly issued directions to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to dispose of the application filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to withdraw insolvency proceedings against troubled edtech giant BYJU’S in a week. 

“The NCLT is directed to decide the application (for withdrawal by BCCI) preferably in a week’s time. It is very much made clear while deciding this appeal, we have not made any observations on the facts,” the appellate tribunal said on Friday (February 7), as per Bar and Bench. 

The directions were issued by a coram comprising Member (Judicial) Justice (retd) Rakesh Kumar Jain and Member (Technical) Jatindranath Swain. This came as the NCLAT disposed of an appeal filed by Riju Raveendran challenging the reinstatement of Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance into the committee of creditors (CoC) of BYJU’S.

This follows the NCLT, last month, initiating disciplinary proceedings against the resolution professional (RP) of BYJU’S, Pankaj Srivastava, and setting aside the RP’s decision to exclude Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance from the CoC.

The NCLT also issued orders for the removal of Srivastava and the constitution of a new CoC, comprising Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance. Not just this, the Tribunal also quashed all the decisions made by the former CoC and directed the new committee to take a call on appointing a new resolution professional.

However, the NCLT is yet to rule on the plea filed by the BCCI to settle its dispute with BYJU’S. 

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Riju Raveendran filed an appeal challenging the admission of Glas Trust and Aditya Birla into the CoC. In his petition, Riju argued that the NCLT cannot order the reconstitution of the CoC due to the pendency of the BCCI’s proposed settlement with BYJU’S. 

He also argued that a full settlement was reached with the BCCI before the CoC was even formed, making the cricket board’s withdrawal application the most pressing matter. 

As per Riju’s plea, the NCLT’s decision to reconstitute the committee effectively dismisses the withdrawal application without a formal ruling.

Citing Supreme Court’s (SC) previous directions which granted the BCCI and Raveendran the liberty to pursue appropriate remedies following the settlement, Riju argued that the NCLT’s order to prioritise CoC formation over the withdrawal application contradicted the SC’s mandate. He also claimed that the Tribunal should have first addressed the withdrawal application, adding that its outcome would determine the “necessity of CoC reconstitution”.