NCLAT gives NCLT one week to decide BCCI application to settle with Byju's

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday directed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to decide the application filed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to withdraw the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against Byju's in a week's time. (Riju Raveendran v. Pankaj Srivastava).While passing this order, the NCLAT disposed an appeal filed by Riju Raveendran challenging the reinstatement of Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance into Byjus' CoC.A coram Justice (retd) Rakesh Kumar Jain, Member (Judicial) and Jatindranath Swain, Member (Technical) said, "The NCLT is directed to decide the application (for withdrawal by BCCI) preferably in a week’s time. It is very much made clear while deciding this appeal, we have not made any observations on the facts.".On January 29, the NCLT called for the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against Pankaj Srivastava, the Resolution Professional (RP) of debt-ridden ed-tech company Byju's. The Tribunal had also set aside the RP's decision to exclude Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance from the CoC constituted to oversee the insolvency resolution process in respect of Byju's.It further directed that the RP be removed, and that the newly constituted CoC comprising Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance take a call on appointing a new RP. The NCLT also quashed all the decisions made by the RP with the former CoC.It, however, has not yet ruled on the application by the BCCI to settle its dispute with Byju's an withdraw the application. .Riju Raveendran filed an appeal challenging the admission of Glas and Aditya Birla into the CoC. In his appeal, Raveendran has contended that the NCLT could not have reconstituted the CoC during the pendency of the application for withdrawal of CIRP on account of a settlement proposed with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Raveendran has contended that a full settlement had been reached with the BCCI before the CoC was even formed, making the withdrawal application the most pressing matter. According to Riju Raveendran, the NCLT’s decision to reconstitute the CoC effectively dismisses the withdrawal application without a formal ruling.The appeal also highlighted that the Supreme Court granted BCCI and Riju Raveendran the liberty to pursue appropriate remedies following the settlement. According to Raveendran, the NCLT's move to prioritise CoC formation over the withdrawal application, directly contradicted the Supreme Court's mandate. He has contended that the tribunal should have first addressed the withdrawal application, as its outcome would determine the necessity of CoC reconstitution..On July 16 last year, the NCLT Bengaluru admitted an insolvency plea filed by the BCCI against Think and Learn Private Limited, which is the parent company of ed-tech firm Byju's.The order was passed on an insolvency plea filed by the BCCI over unpaid dues related to sponsorship rights worth ₹158 crore..Riju Raveendran was represented by Senior Advocate Arun Kathpalia with Advocates Rishab Gupta, Anannya Ghosh, Adarsh Ramanujan, Adv, Doel Bose and Mrinalini Mishra from Manocha and Ghosh law Associates . Glas Trust was represented by Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Krishnendu Datta. Senior Advocate Vijay Narayan appeared for Aditya Birla Finance with Advocates Abhishek Jenaseb, Aparajitha Vishwanath, Lalit Katariya, Ahaan Mohan and Aishwarya Mahadev.