Edtech firm Byju’s approached the Karnataka High Court on Thursday seeking a stay on the insolvency proceedings initiated by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Bengaluru.
In a petition filed through advocate Waseem Pangarkar of MZM Legal, Byju’s requested the Court to halt the insolvency resolution process and the formation of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) until its appeal pending before the NCLAT is heard and resolved.
The petition was mentioned before single-judge Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar on Thursday.
Senior Counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Byju’s parent company Think and Learn, informed the Court that the NCLAT bench in Chennai had adjourned Byju’s appeal to a later date to decide whether one of the judges needed to recuse from the case.
Singhvi referenced a report by Bar & Bench on the NCLAT proceedings from July 23.
Singhvi argued that forming the Committee of Creditors in the meantime would leave Byju’s without a remedy and the situation would become irreversible.
On July 23, the NCLAT bench of judicial member Sharad Kumar Sharma and technical member Jatindranath Swain had adjourned Think and Learn’s appeal to Monday, July 29. The tribunal questioned why Think and Learn initially approached the Karnataka High Court, then withdrew its appeal, and moved to the NCLAT. It also asked what the company would do if NCLAT “refused relief on the first day itself.”
The judicial member also indicated he might recuse himself from the hearing due to previous involvement with BCCI.
On Thursday, Singhvi brought this exchange to the High Court’s attention, emphasizing that if the judicial member recused himself on Monday, Byju’s would face the risk of the Committee of Creditors taking over without the chance to argue its appeal.
Thus, Singhvi sought a stay on the formation of the Committee of Creditors until the NCLAT heard the appeal and made a decision.
Justice Kumar agreed to hear the petition the following day.
On July 16, the NCLT Bengaluru admitted an insolvency plea filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) against Think and Learn over unpaid dues related to sponsorship rights worth ₹158 crore, triggering the corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The NCLT appointed a resolution professional to manage the company’s affairs in the interim.
Singhvi told the Karnataka High Court that Byju’s was a solvent company in advanced settlement talks with BCCI. However, Senior Advocate C.K. Nandakumar, representing BCCI, argued that Byju’s was forum shopping to obtain a stay on the NCLT order.
This writ petition marks the second time Think and Learn has approached the Karnataka High Court following the NCLT Bengaluru order. Previously, it filed and then withdrew an appeal challenging the legal validity of the NCLT order and the insolvency proceedings. The current writ seeks a stay or suspension of the insolvency proceedings until its appeal is heard and decided by the NCLAT in Chennai.
