SC Notice To GLAS Trust, IRPs On Plea By BYJU’S Promoters

Adding another layer to the BYJU’S saga, the Supreme Court has reportedly issued notices to the startup’s former director Riju Raveendran, former and current interim resolution professionals (IRPs) Pankaj Srivastava and Shailendra Ajmera, respectively, and GLAS Trust, a consortium of BYJU’S Term Loan B creditors.

An ET report said that the notices pertain to BYJU’S legal trouble with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well as the startup’s Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).

 In a statement, the startup said that the apex court has admitted the cases filed by the promoters of BYJU’S against the ongoing insolvency proceedings.

Presenting arguments, senior counsel KK Venugopal said, “An INR 158 Cr settlement between BYJU’S and BCCI was fully agreed upon, paid, and formally communicated to the IRP well before the CoC was constituted.”

For context, BCCI and Raveendran have sought a withdrawal of the legal proceedings after the two parties reached a settlement in August 2024, when Riju paid the cricket board INR 158 Cr. 

However, later the Chennai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) blocked the withdrawal of insolvency plea, saying that its settlement proposal will be placed before the Committee of Creditors (CoC), comprising GLAS Trust and Aditya Birla Finance.

On the other hand, BYJU’S claims that the settlement took place before the formation of CoC.

Now, the Supreme Court has refused to stop the current RP from disposing off BYJU’S assets. 

However, the court will consider giving this interim relief in the next hearing, which is scheduled on July 21. Besides, Raveendran’s counsel is also seeking status quo on the CIRP proceedings.

Status quo is a legal order to keep things unchanged until the court verdict comes. By asking for this, Raveendran’s counsel is trying to put a pause to all the insolvency proceedings until the court comes to a final conclusion.

Downfall Of BYJU’S

Once valued at $22 Bn, BYJU’S has been fighting a host of financial and legal challenges, including allegations of mismanagement, misuse of funds and a potential insolvency situation.

Talking about the company’s legal battle with BCCI, the case began back in 2023. The board filed a petition against the edtech startup for not paying INR 158 Cr dues pertaining to the sponsorship of the Indian cricket team. 

In July 2024, the NCLT’s Bengaluru bench admitted the BCCI’s insolvency plea against BYJU’S.

Even after the parties reached a settlement in August 2024, BYJU’S investors and lenders approached the authorities to get their dues back. The edtech firm owes Glas Trust, which is a consortium of its US-based lenders, over $1 Bn. 

The Hush That Followed

After a series of legal battles and bankruptcy, BYJU’S app recently went offline from Play Store. However, the three other apps – “Think and Learn Premium App”, credit processing platforms “TL Pay” and “TL Collect” – are still visible.

Several media reports also suggest that existing users are unable to access paid subscriptions or video content. Besides, the company’s official website has been reduced to basic landing pages and options including free sessions and BYJU’S Early Learn programme, currently showing server errors.

Breaking the long silence, BYJU’S founders Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath recently appeared on a podcast with news agency ANI. The duo accused certain entities of running a campaign of pressure tactics against their inner circle. 

Gokulnath claimed that multiple individuals associated with the company were threatened, with unknown individuals visiting the homes of the company’s executives. 

“They are everywhere. They send people who look like goons. They think we will get intimidated. They don’t know what we are made of. They don’t know where we come from… ” she added.