Karnataka HC Rejects BYJU’S Plea In BCCI Case

Troubled edtech firm BYJU’S has reportedly moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the National Company Law Tribunal order on the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s insolvency plea. However, the court did not admit the plea.

The edtech firm plans to approach the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) again on Monday (July 22), ET reported.

On July 16, it was reported that the NCLT had admitted BYJU’S parent company, Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, into insolvency due to unpaid dues of INR 158 Cr related to sponsorship rights from the BCCI. 

BYJU’S owes INR 158.9 Cr to the cricket body over a jersey sponsorship deal involving the Indian cricket team.

This comes at a time when Byju Raveendran, the founder and CEO of BYJU’S, reportedly said that the insolvency proceedings initiated against the startup will likely “force” thousands of its employees to resign.

The dispute dates back to 2019 when BYJU’S took over the Indian cricket team’s sponsorship from Chinese smartphone maker OPPO, with the agreement set to run until March 2022. After this period, BYJU’S sought to extend the sponsorship for another year. However, in December 2022, the edtech giant abruptly exited the sponsorship deal with the BCCI, citing financial and regulatory challenges.

In January, lawyers representing BYJU’S moved the NCLT against the BCCI’s plea seeking initiation of the insolvency resolution proceedings against the company and sought intervention of an arbitrator.

BYJU’S argued that the BCCI did not provide any services after the contract termination, making the BCCI’s claims of unpaid dues worth INR 158 Cr invalid as an operational credit, as reported by Inc42. However, the NCLT, in its July 16 order, rejected BYJU’S objections, stating that email communications between the parties indicated the sponsorship arrangement and related services were still in effect until September 15, 2023, and that BYJU’S continued to avail all rights as a sponsor.