The Supreme Court announced that it will hear the appeal of US-based creditor Glas Trust Company LLC on September 17
This appeal challenges the NCLAT judgment, which had halted insolvency proceedings against ed-tech company BYJU’s and approved a Rs 158.9 crore settlement with the BCCI.
A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was requested by multiple lawyers to expedite the hearing due to new developments in the case. Senior advocate NK Kaul, representing BYJU’s, emphasized the urgency, with support from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the BCCI and senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, also representing the ed-tech company.
Kaul pointed out that another related plea is also scheduled for September 17, suggesting both cases be heard together, or that the hearing be moved to an earlier date. Senior advocate Shayam Divan, representing the US creditor, agreed that all matters should be heard jointly on September 17.
Earlier on August 22, the bench had denied passing an interim order to stop the committee of creditors (CoC) from convening in relation to the ongoing insolvency proceedings against BYJU’s. The case had been listed for a final hearing on August 27, where the bench mentioned that any developments in the meantime could be reversed if it finds no merit in Glas Trust’s appeal against the NCLAT decision.
The case had also been mentioned earlier on August 20, but the Supreme Court declined to issue an interim order preventing the Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP) from forming a CoC. The Supreme Court had stayed the NCLAT’s decision on August 14, which had annulled the insolvency proceedings against BYJU’s and approved the Rs 158.9 crore settlement with the BCCI.
The NCLAT’s August 2 judgment had been a major relief for BYJU’s as it had reinstated founder Byju Raveendran’s control over the company. However, the Supreme Court, while issuing notices to BYJU’s and others, described the NCLAT’s verdict as “unconscionable” and stayed its implementation, instructing the BCCI to hold the Rs 158 crore settlement in an escrow account until further notice.
The dispute originated from BYJU’s defaulting on a Rs 158.9 crore payment related to a sponsorship agreement with the BCCI. The company had entered a “Team Sponsor Agreement” with the cricket board in 2019, which granted it exclusive branding rights on the Indian cricket team’s kit. While payments were made until mid-2022, BYJU’s defaulted on subsequent installments, leading to the initiation of insolvency proceedings.
On July 16, the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted BYJU’s parent company, Think and Learn, into the insolvency resolution process after a plea filed by the BCCI over the unpaid dues. The NCLT suspended the company’s board of directors, appointed an interim resolution professional, and placed the company under a moratorium, freezing its assets.
US-based lenders raised concerns that the settlement amount was being misappropriated from their extended credit to BYJU’s, adding to the ongoing legal complexity.
(With inputs from agency)
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