Byju’s bankruptcy case: Riju has approached the court to protect a ₹158 crore settlement from creditors.

Riju Raveendran, a suspended director of embattled edtech firm Byju’s, has approached the bankruptcy appeals court to prevent its creditors from deciding on a ₹158 crore settlement with India’s cricket board.Byju’s Committee of Creditors (CoC) includes opposing lenders US-based Glas Trust Llc. and Aditya Birla Finance.Riju, the younger brother of founder Byju Raveendran, argued before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday that the settlement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had been finalized before the CoC was constituted.The Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had on 10 February directed BCCI to submit the ₹158 crore settlement plea to the CoC for approval to facilitate Byju’s exit from insolvency. Byju’s lenders, including Glas Trust, have opposed the settlement, terming the ₹158 crore involved as “tainted money” and asserting their right to be paid first as creditors. Also read | As Byju’s-burnt private investors turn cagey, edtech startups take IPO route to growIf NCLAT rules that the settlement had been decided before the CoC was formed, Byju’s will exit insolvency and the management of the edtech firm will return to Byju Raveendran. However, if the matter stays with the CoC, the company will need to secure approval from the committee, which is dominated by opposing lenders.Currently, Glas Trust dominates the CoC, holding a 99.41% voting share due to its ₹11,432 crore claim. Other creditors include Aditya Birla Finance with a ₹47 crore claim (0.41% voting share) and Incred Financial Services Ltd with a ₹20 crore claim (0.18% voting share).NCLAT has agreed to hear his plea. The next hearing is scheduled for 3 March.The CoC has proposed the appointment of EY’s Shailendra Ajmera, the former resolution professional of bankrupt airline Go First, as the new insolvency expert to manage Byju’s affairs. This comes after NCLT in January decided that resolution professional Pankaj Shrivastava was unfit to oversee Byju’s insolvency process. It had also directed that the reconstitution of the CoC on 31 August 2024 be cancelled, and the erstwhile CoC from 21 August 2024 be retained.Byju’s insolvency proceedings began on 16 June, 2024 after the company defaulted on a ₹158 crore payment to BCCI under a sponsorship agreement. Byju’s had secured jersey sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team in 2019, extending the contract until November 2023. However, financial struggles led to missed payments, prompting BCCI to initiate insolvency proceedings.Both parties later sought a court-approved settlement, but NCLT did not issue an order, forcing Byju to escalate the matter to the NCLAT in Chennai.Also read | Mint Explainer: Why Byju’s creditors have dragged its insolvency professional to courtOn 2 August , 2024 NCLAT dismissed Byju’s insolvency case and approved BCCI’s settlement after Riju Raveendran raised ₹158 crore to clear