Bengaluru-based edtech major is continually facing trouble due to the plea filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in July after the company failed to pay sponsorship dues worth ₹158 crores.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for September 17 to consider an appeal filed by U.S.-based creditor Glas Trust Company LLC, challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal‘s (NCLAT) decision to halt insolvency proceedings against ed-tech company BYJU’s and approve its settlement of INR 158.9 crore with the (BCCI).
It is worth noting that the Glas Trust Company represents U.S.-based lenders, that collectively extended over 85 percent of the $1.2 billion term loan to BYJU’s.
An urgent appeal has been made to the Supreme Court by senior advocate NK Kaul, on behalf of BYJU’s, seeking an immediate hearing before the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and JusticesJ B Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra. Recent developments in the case have necessitated this urgent request, emphasizing the need for a prompt hearing to address the matter with utmost urgency.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the BCCI, and senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, also appearing on behalf of the ed-tech company, both supporting the urgent plea.
According to Kaul, an additional plea in the case has been filed and is scheduled for hearing on September 17.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has agreed to consolidate the hearings, stating, “We will hear both the pleas on September 17,” PTI reported.
Shyam Divan, senior advocate representing the US-based creditor, proposed that the matters be consolidated and heard jointly on September 17. He suggested that combining the cases would allow for a more efficient and streamlined process, enabling the court to address all relevant issues in a single hearing. By hearing the matters together, the court can consider the interconnected aspects of the cases and make a more informed decision.
In a previous hearing on August 22, the bench denied a request for an interim order that aimed to halt the Committee of Creditors (CoC) from conducting any meetings related to the insolvency proceedings against the struggling ed-tech company.
During the August 22 hearing, the bench made two key decisions regarding the struggling ed-tech company’s insolvency proceedings. Firstly, it declined to issue an interim order that would have temporarily halted the CoC from convening meetings related to the case. Secondly, the bench scheduled the plea for a final hearing on August 27, setting the stage for a conclusive ruling on the matter.
Aditya Birla Finance, a creditor of BYJU’s has made a serious allegation against the company’s interim resolution professional (IRP), accusing them of fraudulent conduct in the ongoing corporate insolvency resolution process, as reported by Mint on Wednesday. The lender has taken its grievance to the National Company Law Tribunal, filing a plea against BYJU’s resolution professional for allegedly misclassifying it as an operational creditor instead of a financial creditor.
In a significant blow to BYJU’s, the Supreme Court on August 14 overturned the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) decision, putting on hold the insolvency proceedings against the ed-tech giant and endorsing its settlement of INR 158.9 crore in dues.
Background
The parent company of troubled edtech giant BYJU’s called Think and Learn Pvt Ltd was put into insolvency by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on July 16, due to a plea filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after the company failed to pay sponsorship dues worth ₹158 crore.
The company is now in insolvency and Pankaj Srivastava has been appointed as the interim resolution professional after the entire management headed by founder Byju Raveendran, was legally suspended.
The committee of creditors will now run the company for 330 days during which they can find a buyer for the company. If they are unable to do so within 330 days, the company will get liquidated.
Around 160-200 former employees of BYJU’s who were laid off due to falling revenues had complained to the Karnataka labor commissioner that their full settlement was not yet made, according to a Moneycontrol report. The total dues amounted to 4.5 crore.
The committee of creditors can choose to retain employees or terminate them over the next 330 days.
