BYJU’S Insolvency Saga: Shailendra Ajmera Appointed New IRP

The Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has appointed Shailendra Ajmera as the new insolvency resolution professional (IRP) of troubled edtech startup BYJU’S.

“Heard the learned senior counsel appearing for the applicant and considering the submissions made, the present application replacing the IRP, Mr. Pankaj Srivastava, by appointing Mr. Shailendra Ajmera, as resolution professional of the corporate debtor is hereby allowed,” said the NCLT order dated February 24. 

The order also noted that the members of BYJU’S committee of creditors (CoC), in their first meeting on February 11, passed a resolution to replace the outgoing IRP Srivastava with Ajmera. 99.82% of the members voted in favour of Ajmera. 

During the hearing, the counsel for the erstwhile directors of BYJU’S, Byju Raveendran and Riju Ravindran, objected to the appointment of Ajmera as IRP. 

“Learned counsel appearing for suspended directors submits that they have filed an IA (application) objecting to the appointment of Mr. Shailendra Ajmera as resolution professional of the corporate debtor. However, said IA has not been numbered due to defects not being cleared,” the order added.

The case has been scheduled for next hearing on March 19.

This comes a month after the NCLT found Srivastava’s conduct as “unfit” and “improper” for an officer of the tribunal. Not stopping there, the NCLT also issued directions to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to take disciplinary action against the erstwhile IRP Srivastava.

Srivastava was accused by creditors of BYJU’S, Glas Trust, and Aditya Birla Finance, of fraud by not including them in the then CoC.

Meanwhile, BYJU’S cofounder and CEO Byju Raveendran publicly trained his guns on term loan B (TLB) lenders of the company on Friday (February 28).

Byju Alleges Nexus Between EY India & Creditors 

In a lengthy post on LinkedIn, which was reposted by his wife and fellow director at BYJU’S Divya Gokulnath, Byju Raveendran alleged that he and several employees of the company received a document with “conclusive evidence of criminal collusion” between EY India, the lenders and the outgoing IRP Srivastava. 

“I am sure a thorough investigation of this evidence will reveal the truth. I request the authorities to take that up immediately,” his post read. 

Training guns at the erstwhile IRP, he even went on to claim that Srivastava was appointed by an Indian court to protect BYJU’S but “ended up destroying it”. He also alluded to “some circumstances” that were “simply unfair” to him, and cited the “collusion” between the auditor and the lenders.

“From now on, you will hear it directly from me. Because direct action is how we built BYJU’S. Those who believe in me make me strong. Those who do not, make me stronger. As they say, you can never defeat someone who does not give up. To all BYJUites, past and present, I have just one message: stay strong, stay proud. Forgive me for my mistakes. We will be back stronger than ever before,” said Byju Raveendran. 

However, the post was temporarily removed from the social networking platform. In a separate post on LinkedIn, Gokulnath said, “Byju’s post and account taken down”. However, the post was restored after a few hours.

The fresh development comes a day after a US insolvency court ruled in favour of the lenders of BYJU’S in connection with a case involving alleged fraudulent transfer of $533 Mn by the troubled edtech startup.