Edtech firm Byju’s has moved the National Company Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Chennai challenging the order of the NCLT Bengaluru that had admitted an insolvency plea against its parent company ‘Think and Learn.’
On Tuesday, Senior Advocate Promod Nair for MZM Legal appeared for Think and Learn before the NCLAT.
Nair made an urgent mention before a Bench of judicial member Sharad Kumar Sharma and technical member Jatindranath Swain to list the plea for hearing.
NCLAT initially questioned why the edtech firm had moved the Karnataka High Court first and then decided to withdraw its petition to approach the Appellate Tribunal.
However, the senior counsel urged that the matter be listed for hearing at the earliest, saying that “salaries needed to be paid” to thousands of employees.
The Bench then agreed to list the matter for hearing on July 29.
The dues cited by BCCI were payable in respect of an agreement with Byju's to sponsor the jerseys of the Indian cricket team. The sponsorship contract was entered into between BCCI and Byju's initially in 2019, when it took over sponsoring the cricket team's jerseys from mobile phone manufacturer OPPO. As per reports, this contract initially ended in 2022 but it was later extended for 2023.
In January 2023, amid reports of various other financial troubles for the ed-tech company, Byju's announced that it would not be renewing its sponsorship deal with BCCI as well as other partnerships with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA).
Later that year, BCCI filed its plea to initiate the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against Byju's. The NCLT sought a response from Byju's in November 2023.
On July 16, the NCLT Bengaluru had admitted an insolvency plea filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) against Think and Learn. BCCI had filed the insolvency plea over unpaid dues related to sponsorship rights worth ₹158 crore.
By admitting BCCI’s plea, the NCLT triggered the corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) for Think and Learn. As mandated under the IBC, NCLT then appointed a resolution professional to manage all affairs of the company in the interim.
Senior Advocate PH Arvindh Pandian, briefed by Khaitan and Co, appeared for the financial creditor GLAS Trust Company LLC.
Advocate Ashwini Vaidialingam, briefed by Argus Partners, appeared for BCCI.