Supreme Court sets aside Kerala High Court order in Voizzit–Byju’s IP dispute

The Supreme Court set aside a Kerala High Court order that restrained Claudia Springer, a US Chapter 11 Trustee, from selling intellectual property assets linked to Epic! Creations and Tangible Play— two US-based ed-tech companies formerly acquired by Think & Learn Private Limited (Byju’s Group)..A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sanjay Kumar found that the High Court had passed the order without granting an opportunity of hearing to Springer. Accordingly, it remitted the matter back to the High Court for fresh consideration on June 4.“A perusal of the impugned order indicates that the respondents were not heard, which fact is not disputed by the learned senior counsel appearing for respondent nos. 1 and 2,” the top court recorded in its May 27 order..Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a legal process under U.S. law that allows a business or individual to restructure their debts while continuing operations. Unlike Chapter 7, which involves liquidation, Chapter 11 enables the debtor to remain in control as a "debtor-in-possession" and propose a reorganisation plan to repay creditors over time..The High Court had earlier restrained Springer from alienating assets of Epic! until the Ernakulam Commercial Court decided an injunction plea filed by Voizzit in an ongoing commercial suit. Springer challenged this order before the Supreme Court, arguing that it violated principles of natural justice, judicial comity and exceeded the High Court’s supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227..Springer was appointed as Chapter 11 Trustee for Epic!, Tangible Play Inc., and Neuron Fuel Inc. by the Delaware Bankruptcy Court. The US court had issued multiple restraining and contempt orders against Voizzit and its managing director Rajendran Vellapalath for attempting to assert ownership over the assets through parallel Indian proceedings in violation of the automatic stay under US law.The Delaware court had also approved the sale of Epic!’s assets to Hy Ruby Limited on May 20 — one day before the Kerala High Court order. Springer submitted that the High Court’s intervention had rendered the US court’s orders unenforceable in practice and prejudiced the ongoing restructuring process..Springer’s petition before the top couty argued that Voizzit and its affiliates had deliberately suppressed material facts from the Kerala High Court, including the US orders dated December 2024 (temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction) as well as a January 2025 contempt order which found Voizzit in violation of US court's directions.The petition also raised concerns about misuse of Indian judicial forums to frustrate international insolvency resolutions.“The Respondents have approached the Kerala High Court and Commercial Court with unclean hands, having deliberately concealed that they were already restrained by the Delaware Bankruptcy Court from prosecuting or continuing the Commercial Suit,” the petition stated..Senior Advocate Ritin Rai appeared for the petitioner Springer, briefed by advocates Samudra Sarangi and Azmat Hayat Amanullah..Voizzit was represented by Senior Advocate Anupam Lal Das along with advocates Shivendra Singh and Prakriti Rastogi..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.