NEW DELHI: In a setback for Byju’s, the embattled edtech firm, the Supreme Court on Wednesday annulled its Rs 158 crore settlement with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) towards dues for sponsorship of the Indian cricket team.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra set aside an Aug 2 order of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Chennai, approving the settlement as the amount was being paid by Riju Ravindran from his tax-paid own sources and said the money had no link with Byju’s Alpha, incorporated in the US as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Byju’s Think and Learn.
The SC had on Aug 14 stayed operation of the NCLAT order and directed BCCI to keep Rs 158 crore paid by Riju Raveendran in a separate escrow account till further orders.
Writing the 61-page judgment allowing Glas Trust‘s appeal against NCLAT order, CJI Chandrachud said, “At this stage, it would not be appropriate for this court to adjudicate on the objections of the appellant (Glas Trust) to the settlement agreement on merits. The issues raised are the subject matter of several litigations in different fora, including the Delaware court and investigation by various authorities, including the Enforcement Directorate, which are pending.”
Noting that a Committee of Creditors (CoC) had been constituted for the proceedings under IBC for Byju’s, the bench said Glas Trust’s objection to the settlement would be heard afresh by NCLAT. However, it ordered that the amount of Rs 158 crore, with interest, would now be deposited with the CoC, which would maintain the amount in an escrow account till further orders of NCLAT.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for BCCI, repeatedly requested the court to modify the order and allow BCCI to maintain the amount in a separate escrow account till further orders of NCLAT. The bench declined, saying it passed the order considering all aspects.
NCLAT had rejected the objections to settlement by Glas Trust.
