Raveendran seeks inclusion in NCLT insolvency case amid BCCI dispute and investors’ claims
Riju Raveendran, a director at BYJU’S, has reportedly approached the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to seek inclusion in the ongoing insolvency case involving the struggling startup, its lenders, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
According to a report by Livemint, Raveendran’s legal counsel has requested that the Tribunal allow him to present his defense against allegations made by BYJU’S investors, claiming that he misappropriated funds to cover the INR 158 crore owed by the company to the BCCI.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) expressed doubts about accepting Raveendran’s plea, emphasizing that the determination of the source of funds falls under the jurisdiction of the income tax authorities and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
It’s important to note that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) filed a bankruptcy plea against BYJU’S, which led to the initiation of insolvency proceedings against the edtech company. However, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) later resolved the dispute after BYJU’S settled its dues to the BCCI.
In August earlier this year, Raveendran informed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that the funds to pay the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had come from his sale of shares in Think and Learn, the parent company of BYJU’S, between 2015 and 2018.
BYJU’S investors, including Glas Trust, Prosus, General Atlantic, and Peak XV Partners, took their case to the Supreme Court in an effort to revive the bankruptcy proceedings. They argued that Raveendran, along with BYJU’S founder and CEO, Byju Raveendran, had filed for insolvency in the United States but failed to provide evidence of any available funds.
In response, the Supreme Court deemed the investors’ claims to be more serious than those made by the BCCI and ordered that the insolvency proceedings be restarted.
Shortly thereafter, the BCCI approached the NCLT in November to retract its insolvency proceedings. However, Glas Trust challenged the validity of the BCCI’s withdrawal application during the hearing.
According to a report by ET, a consortium of the company’s US-based lenders argued that the application should be rejected based on a technicality. Glas Trust contended that the application, which the BYJU’S resolution professional (RP) claimed was filed before the committee of creditors (CoC) was formed, should have been submitted by the interim resolution professional (IRP), not the RP.
“The initial argument is that the current application does not come from an Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP). Instead, the individual is claiming to be a Resolution Professional (RP). Therefore, the issue of submitting an application under stage two, as referenced by the Supreme Court, or under the first provision of Regulation 30A, is not applicable,” counsel for Glas Trust stated.
