NCLAT turns down Byju's appeal to exempt Rs 158 crore settlement from lenders' review

In the latest development in beleaguered ed-tech startup Byju's insolvency proceedings, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has rejected the plea of Riju Raveendran, brother of Byju Raveendran, who sought to keep his Rs 158 crore settlement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) outside the scrutiny of its committee of lenders.

Riju said that the Rs 158 crore settlement with BCCI was finalised before the formation of the Committee of Creditors (CoC).

On 10 February, the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed BCCI to submit the Rs 158 crore settlement plea before the committee of lenders. If accepted, Byju's could exit insolvency proceedings.

NCLT directs BCCI to submit withdrawal application in dispute with Byju’s

The lenders include Aditya Birla Finance and US-based Glas Trust. They opposed it saying the settlement amount with BCCI was "tainted" money. However, the ed-tech firm and BCCI opposed it saying that it was a tax paid money.

Both Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance were part of Byju's CoC in August last year. However, they were removed from the reconstituted committee. Aditya Birla Finance alleged that the Resolution Professional had wrongfully classified it as an "operational creditor" instead of a financial creditor or lender, while Glas Trust said it was wrongfully ousted from the lenders' committee.

NCLAT orders NCLT to decide on BCCI-Byju’s settlement within a week The CoC is a group of financial creditors who represent the company during the insolvency process.

The company's tribunal will hear the matter on 3 March.