Riju Raveendran challenges NCLT's decision to reinstate 2 Byju's lenders

The largest shareholder in the bankrupt edtech firm Byju’s, Riju Raveendran, moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday challenging a decision to reinstate Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance as lenders of the firm.

He has challenged the January 29 order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The NCLT had ordered disciplinary action against resolution professional (RP) Pankaj Srivastava and rejected his decision to exclude Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance from the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of the edtech firm.

The petition argues that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had reserved its 29 January order on both the settlement approval and the lenders’ challenge. However, the tribunal ruled only on the lenders’ plea, leaving the settlement unresolved, according to a report by the Mint.

Both Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance were part of the CoC last year in August but were later axed from the reconstituted committee. Aditya Birla Finance alleged that the RP had wrongfully classified it as an “operational creditor” instead of financial creditor or lender, while Glas Trust said it was wrongfully ousted from the CoC.

Senior advocate Arun Kathpalia, representing the director, suggested that the tribunal’s rulings indicate a possible “nexus” that prejudices the company. Byju’s has now sought a special NCLAT bench to hear its case, with the appellate court set to consider the plea on 6 February, Mint reported.

Meanwhile, the NCLT 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 the default of Rs 158 crore.