Mumbai: The Supreme Court of India has dismissed an appeal filed by Byju Raveendran challenging the April 17 judgment of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) concerning the settlement between ed-tech major Byju’s and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan refused to interfere with the NCLAT verdict. The Chennai Bench of NCLAT had earlier held that the BCCI settlement could not be treated as a pre-Committee of Creditors (pre-CoC) settlement. The tribunal directed that the settlement proposal, as well as BCCI’s application for withdrawal of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), be placed before the Committee of Creditors (CoC) for approval, as mandated under Section 12A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
In July 2025, the Supreme Court had similarly rejected an appeal filed by both BCCI and Rjju Raveendran seeking to withdraw insolvency proceedings against Byju’s. The April NCLAT order had earlier set aside pleas by BCCI and Rjju Raveendran that challenged the blockage of the withdrawal of insolvency proceedings against the company.
The legal tussle traces back to last year when the Supreme Court had set aside the NCLAT order that approved a Rs. 158.9 crore settlement to BCCI. The Court allowed the appeal filed by US-based creditor Glas Trust Company LLC, which argued that it could not be considered an unrelated party and had the locus to challenge the settlement.
On August 2, 2024, NCLAT had approved the Rs. 158.9 crore dues settlement with BCCI, effectively ending the insolvency proceedings against Byju’s and enabling Byju Raveendran to regain operational control of the company.
The dispute centered on a Rs. 160 crore sponsorship contract for providing jerseys to the Indian cricket team, initially scheduled to end in November 2023. BCCI had sought to extend the contract until March 2024 to secure a new sponsor for the following financial year. Following financial difficulties, Byju’s reportedly chose not to renew contracts with BCCI, ICC, or FIFA. Glas Trust had alleged that the payments made by Rjju Raveendran, the founder’s brother, from personal funds were tainted. Glas Trust serves as the trustee for lenders to whom Byju’s owes approximately USD 1.2 billion.
