The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on September 17 an appeal filed by U.S.-based creditor Glas Trust Company LLC against an order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) allowing edtech firm Byju’s to pay a settlement amount of ₹158 crore to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud fixed September 17 even as senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Byju’s, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for BCCI, pushed for September 13.
Mr. Kaul said an early hearing was imperative as there were developments on the ground which need to be brought to the court’s attention.
In a mentioning on September 6, Mr. Kaul had alleged the petition by Glas was mala fide and the funding in the company was limited to promoters with no external borrowing.
On August 22, the Apex Court had not heeded to repeated requests by Byju’s and the BCCI to defer a meeting of the Committee of Creditors (CoC).
The court had, on August 14, stayed the operation of the NCLAT decision.
According to BCCI, the NCLAT decision, allowing the settlement, was based on the reasoning that the cricketing body would not accept any tainted money. It had submitted that ₹158 crore was offered by Riju Raveendran, Byju’s brother. The money was generated in India, for which Income Tax was paid, and received through banking channels.
However, Glas had argued the “drill of the law” was not followed in the settlement between Byju’s and the BCCI. The U.S. lender had said, as a major financial creditor, it should have got priority in repayments.
Published - September 11, 2024 09:30 pm IST
