The NCLAT rejected Riju Raveendran’s plea to exclude the ₹158 crore BCCI settlement from CoC oversight.
On February 19, 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Chennai Bench, comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain (Judicial Member) and Mr. Jatindranath Swain (Technical Member), reviewed an appeal along with interlocutory applications and observed that any settlement involving the corporate debtor, even if finalized before the constitution of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), must be subjected to creditor scrutiny under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and cannot be unilaterally excluded from insolvency proceedings. The NCLAT upheld the NCLT’s direction, emphasizing that the CoC retains decisive authority over such financial matters.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), Chennai, on February 19, 2025, declined to grant interim relief to Riju Raveendran, a director of Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. (Byju’s), in his plea seeking to keep a ₹158 crore settlement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) outside the purview of the Committee of Creditors (CoC). Raveendran had contended that the settlement had been finalized before the constitution of the CoC and, therefore, should not be subject to its approval. However, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru, had earlier directed that the settlement must be presented before the CoC for its consideration.
The CoC, which holds decisive authority in insolvency resolution matters, comprises creditors of Byju’s, including Glas Trust Company and Aditya Birla Finance. Glas Trust, having an overwhelming 99.41% voting share due to its ₹11,432 crore claim, strongly opposed Raveendran’s request. If the settlement were allowed to be kept outside the CoC’s purview, it could potentially enable Byju’s to exit insolvency proceedings without creditor oversight.
Furthermore, the NCLT, in its order dated January 29, 2025, had taken a firm stance against Byju’s resolution professional (RP), directing disciplinary proceedings against him and overturning his decision to exclude Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance from the CoC. This highlights the tribunal’s commitment to ensuring that all significant financial decisions related to the corporate debtor remain within the framework of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
With the NCLAT declining interim relief, Riju Raveendran’s plea will now be heard on March 3, 2025. The outcome of this hearing will have significant implications for Byju’s insolvency proceedings, particularly in determining whether the BCCI settlement can bypass creditor scrutiny under the IBC framework.
Mr. Arun Kathpalia, Senior Advocate, Mr. Abhijeeth Sinha, Senior Advocate, Mr. Adarsh Ramanujan, Advocate, Ms. Ananya Ghosh, Advocate, Ms. Mrinalini Mishra, Advocate, Ms. Doel Bose, Advocate, Ms. Priscilla Carolyn, Advocate, Mr. Rishab Gupta, Advocate and Ms. Diksha Gupta, Advocate represented the Appellant.
Mr. Kapil Sibal, Senior Advocate with Mr. Thriyambak J. Kannan, Advocate appeared for Respondent No. 1.
Mr. CK Nandakumar, Senior Advocate for Ms. Bhavya Mohan and Ms. Anjali Kutiyal, Advocates appeared for Respondent No. 2.
Ms. Sneha Parthasarathy, Ms. Pooja Jhaveri and Ms. Aparajitha Vishwanath, Advocates appeared for Respondent No. 3.
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