NCLAT Judge Recuses From Hearing Byju Raveendran’s Plea Against Bankruptcy Order

BYJU’S founder Byju Raveendran suffered further setback as justice Sharad Kumar Sharma of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal recused himself from hearing the former’s plea challenging the order to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against the edtech firm.

In his order dated July 29, Justice Sharma admitted that he had appeared as a senior counsel for the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) in the past, Moneycontrol reported.

“Since they are the main beneficiaries of this order, I cannot take this up,” Justice Sharma was quoted as saying by the publication.

The case will now be heard by NCLAT chairperson (retd) Ashok Bhushan.

With the NCLAT having deferred Raveendran’s plea on the recusal of a member, BYJU’S is facing a potential takeover by the Committee of Creditors.

This comes just days after the Karnataka High Court deferred hearing on Raveendran’s plea challenging the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) order to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against the embattled edtech firm.

The Karnataka HC has listed the plea for hearing on July 30.

Earlier this month, Raveendran moved the Karnataka HC after the NCLT started bankruptcy proceedings against BYJU’S on a BCCI’s plea over unpaid dues of about INR 158 Cr.

Raveendran argued before the Karnataka HC that the insolvency proceedings initiated against the startup will likely “force” thousands of its employees to quit.

In September last year, the BCCI dragged BYJU’S to the NCLT, seeking initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process against the edtech company under section 9 of Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016 over the dispute around the sponsorship rights of the Indian cricket teams’ jerseys.

BYJU’S has been mired in troubles for quite some time now, facing problems such as shrinking revenues, funding vacuum and consequent mass layoffs and legal trouble with the NCLT and probe by the Enforcement Directorate.

In June, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said that the probe into potential governance lapses at BYJU’S was still “ongoing”.

Earlier this month, Inc42 reported that the edtech giant has been locked out of more than 100 BYJU’S Tuition Centres (BTC) across the country over unpaid rent and utility bills.

Recently, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a sovereign wealth fund and investor in BYJU’S, moved the Karnataka HC to compel Raveendran to disclose and block the transfer of his personal assets. QIA has claimed up to $235.19 Mn of Raveendran’s personal assets.