OPPO Tells NCLT That BYJU’S Owes The Mobile Phone Manufacturer INR 13 Cr

Smartphone manufacturing major OPPO has reportedly informed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that BYJU’S owes it INR 13 Cr for preinstalling the latter’s mobile app on phones manufactured by the company.

As per a Moneycontrol report, OPPO has sought urgent orders from the NCLT claiming the edtech major’s promoters were ‘absconding’. However, senior advocate Pramod Nair reportedly took a strong objection to OPPO’s lawyer during the hearing process for using the word ‘absconding’. 

OPPO said that BYJU’S had entered into an agreement with the company to preinstall the edtech platform’s apps on its mobile phones to reach a wider audience. However, the beleaguered edtech major did not pay the amount that was agreed upon in the deal.

In May this year, OPPO filed an insolvency plea against BYJU’S, joining several other operational creditors filing cases against the edtech major, to recover its pending dues.

OPPO has now repeatedly said that BYJU’S admitted to owing it money, and the former has a straightforward case to refer the edtech startup to the insolvency resolution process.

The hearing on the plea has been adjourned till July 3.

The development comes a day after BYJU’S settled its dispute with Teleperformance Business Services. Following this, the NCLT instructed the French digital services company to file a memo indicating its intention to withdraw the insolvency plea to finalise the case closure against BYJU’S.

Meanwhile, new reports emerged on June 26 that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), after investing BYJU’S for potential corporate governance lapses, could not find any evidence to prove any malpractices.

However, refuting the report, the ministry said that its probe into the affairs of the troubled edtech startup was “ongoing”. 

The financial struggles in the edtech major continue as NCLT has barred BYJU’S from raising funds through a second rights issue. Earlier this week, the company moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the NCLT’s order.

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