NCLT Admits BCCI Petition For Insolvency Proceedings Against Byju's; Pankaj Srivastava Appointed IRP

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday admitted BCCI’s petition seeking insolvency proceedings against Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, the parent company of edtech giant Byju’s. This is related to Byju’s default on dues of Rs 158 crore under their sponsorship contract for the Indian cricket team.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) administers professional cricket in India.

Pankaj Srivastava has been appointed as the interim resolution professional. He will be in charge of running the company till the lenders form the Committee of Creditors.

“This Adjudicating Authority is of the considered opinion that there is no reason to deny the petition filing under Section 9 of the IBC, 2016, by the Operational Creditor (BCCI) to initiate CIRP against the Corporate Debtor (Byju’s), since the existence of a debt and a default in the payment of debt is clearly established,” the NCLT said in its order dated July 16, 2024.

The Interim Resolution Professional shall after collation of all the claims received against Think and Learn Pvt Ltd the Corporate Debtor and the determination of the financial position of the Corporate Debtor constitutes a Committee of Creditors, according to the order.

The NCLT also dismissed Byju’s request to refer the dispute to arbitration.

In September last year, the BCCI had filed an application under Section 9 of the IBC, 2016, in the Bengaluru bench of NCLT seeking to initiate the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Professional (CIRP) against Byju’s for defaulting on dues of Rs 158 crore. The case pertains to the dispute around the sponsorship rights of the Indian cricket team’s jerseys.

“It is stated that the General notice was issued to Byju’s vide email dated 06.01.2023 and the default amount of Rs 158 crore, excluding TDS (tax deducted at source) as reflected in the invoices attached,” said the NCLT order delivered on November 28, 2023.

Meanwhile, the edtech company recently settled insolvency case with Gurugram-based Surfer Technologies. The latter has told this to the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), hinting that it would withdraw its insolvency application against the edtech firm.

On February 7, Surfer Technologies submitted an application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. This section enables an operational creditor to start insolvency proceedings against a company in case of a default. The counsel for Surfer Technologies informed the tribunal that the edtech firm owed over Rs 2 crore in debt and that a notice had been issued to the company on December 8, 2023, prior to filing the insolvency application.