Glas Trust Seeks NCLAT Hearing In Aakash Case: Report

In the latest legal tussle involving BYJU’S, Glas Trust, which represents the edtech startup’s US lenders, has reportedly sought the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) hearing on Aakash Institute’s governance changes.

An ET report said that Glas Trust has also asked for an interim stay (temporary halt) on key decisions made at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of Aakash in November 2023. These decisions were related to changes in the company’s articles of association (AoA), which define rules on ownership and management.

However, the report said that today (March 11), the NCLAT refused to grant the stay and scheduled the next hearing for March 17.

Despite this, Glas Trust is pushing for a proper hearing. Its lawyers argued in NCLAT that just because Blackstone has withdrawn, the case shouldn’t be dismissed without consideration.

“Because of the withdrawal, the stay (on amending AoA) is no longer valid. We need a hearing and an opportunity to argue for interim relief,” said Glas Trust’s legal counsel, according to the report.

Adding another layer to the controversy, BYJU’S lenders also argued that Aakash’s recent board meeting and decisions made at the EGM are invalid. According to them, since Think & Learn is undergoing a corporate insolvency resolution process, it should have been represented by its resolution professional (RP) in the board meeting. 

Instead, BYJU’S promoter attended on its behalf, raising questions about the validity of the resolutions passed.

This case follows an earlier ruling by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which stated that Aakash could not make changes to its AoA. This ruling came after Blackstone, a private equity firm and minority stakeholder in Aakash, filed a case claiming that the amendments were meant to strip away its rights and instead give special rights to Manipal Education & Medical Group, owned by Ranjan Pai, which holds the biggest stake (40%) in Aakash.

However, Blackstone withdrew its case from the NCLT on February 26, even though the case was nearly concluded with all arguments presented.