The move by the cricket control board follows a Supreme Court of India ruling on October 23, which quashed a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order allowing a settlement between BCCI and Byju’s. On August 2, NCLAT’s Chennai bench approved Byju’s founders’ settlement of the Rs 158 crore payment owed to BCCI, helping the edtech company avoid bankruptcy.
The matter will be heard on November 18.
Meanwhile, Byju’s lenders have opposed BCCI’s withdrawal application saying that the committee of creditors (CoC) needs to take a decision before any such plea is made.
“The CoC needs to be formed and it has to take a decision,” a counsel for Aditya Birla Finance argued before the NCLT.
However, BCCI submitted that its Rs 158-crore settlement with Byju’s was done before the CoC was formed.
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“We have filed an application, and this was filed even before the constitution of any committee of creditors (CoC). So, in terms of the judgment now…that the Supreme Court has pronounced, this would have to be considered as a pre-committee of creditors situation,” said senior advocate CK Nandakumar, appearing for BCCI.Aditya Birla Finance, one of Byju’s creditors, said BCCI cannot claim the money, as the apex court had instructed the cricket board to deposit the funds with the CoC which will be held in an escrow account.
The top court had set aside the NCLAT order approving a Rs 158 crore settlement between debt-ridden Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, the parent of Byju’s, and BCCI, an operational creditor.
The court had directed that Rs 158 crore, along with accrued interest, which BCCI deposited in a separate escrow account as per its August 14 order, will be deposited with the CoC, which will maintain it in an escrow account until further developments and further directions by the NCLT.
Aditya Birla Finance along with Glas Trust have also filed an application seeking the removal of the interim resolution professional (IRP) and for the reconstitution of the CoC.
