NCLT Bengaluru approves appointment of new RP for debt-laden Byju's

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru Bench, on Monday indicated the appointment of Shailendra Ajmera as resolution professional (RP) of debt-laden edtech firm Byju’s. 

 

Ajmera will replace former RP Pankaj Srivastava.

 

Meanwhile, private equity firm Blackstone-backed Singapore Topco withdrew its petition against Aakash Educational Services over proposed changes to the latter's articles of association (AoA).

 

Aakash, a subsidiary of Byju's, can now amend its AoA, raise capital or restructure internally. This was initially opposed by Singapore Topco, which is a lender that holds 6.97 per cent stake in Aakash Education.

 

The NCLT, in its last hearing, had asked all parties to file their reply with respect to the allegation of former RP Srivastava not discharging his duties properly.

 

It had earlier ordered disciplinary action against Srivastava and rejected his decision to exclude Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance from the committee of creditors (CoC) of the edtech firm. The CoC balances the interests of all stakeholders during an insolvency process.

 

However, it is yet to decide the application by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), seeking to settle its dispute with Byju’s for a default of ₹158 crore. This application, along with others, has been posted for hearing on March 19. 

 

The tribunal also told the BCCI to settle the dispute with Byju’s by submitting an insolvency withdrawal application before the CoC of Byju's parent company Think and Learn Private Limited.

 

Section 12A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) allows for the withdrawal of an insolvency application after it has been admitted.

 

The applicant must get approval from at least 90 per cent of the CoCs.

 

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), on February 7, told the NCLT to decide on BCCI's application in a week.

 

The Supreme Court had, in October last year, set aside the ₹158 crore settlement reached between BCCI and the embattled edtech firm.

 

The apex court nixed an NCLAT order, which had upheld this settlement, as the amount was being paid by Riju Ravindran from his tax-paid own sources.

 

The Supreme Court had then asked BCCI to transfer the money in an escrow account, sending the case back to NCLT.