Aditya Birla Finance and Glas Trust seek removal of resolution professional in Byju’s insolvency case

Aditya Birla Finance and Glas Trust Company have filed applications before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru, seeking the removal of the Resolution Professional (RP) handling the insolvency proceedings of Byju’s parent company, Think and Learn, Bar & Bench reported. The applications were filed on Monday, and the NCLT bench, comprising Judicial Member K. Biswal and Technical Member Manoj Kumar Dubey, has scheduled the pleas for hearing next week.

The matter was raised for urgent hearing, with Senior Advocate Uday Holla, representing Glas Trust, arguing that the RP’s decision to classify only one creditor as a financial creditor had led to a skewed Committee of Creditors (CoC) composition. According to Holla, this resulted in the CoC being dominated by a single creditor, who now holds 100% of the voting rights in the ongoing Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).

The CoC typically includes financial creditors who have voting rights in decisions related to the company’s resolution. Operational creditors, such as suppliers and service providers, do not have a vote in the CoC. Holla added that Glas Trust had obtained a stay from the Karnataka High Court on October 25, halting the CoC meetings, and urged the NCLT to expedite the hearing of the case.

Senior Advocate Promod Nair, representing Aditya Birla Finance, also voiced concerns over the RP’s classification, asserting that his client should be recognized as a financial creditor rather than an operational one. Nair further pointed out that the Karnataka High Court had instructed the NCLT to resolve the dispute within two weeks.

Advocates Ahaan Mohan and Aiyshwarya Mahadev of AMM & Associates assisted Nair, while Advocate Tejas Shetty of Khaitan & Co represented Glas Trust. Senior Advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, representing the suspended management of Think and Learn, requested a copy of the applications filed by the creditors.

This legal development follows a significant ruling from the Supreme Court on October 23, which allowed Glas Trust’s appeal challenging a decision by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that had stalled the insolvency proceedings. The Supreme Court’s judgment set aside the NCLAT order, which had upheld a settlement between Byju Raveendran and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and had initially led to the insolvency proceedings being triggered in July. The case has now been remitted back to the NCLT for further proceedings.