In a significant legal development, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Bengaluru has imposed a status quo on the assets auctioned by the resolution professional (RP) of Think and Learn Private Limited (TLPL), the parent company of Byju’s. This order was pronounced following allegations from the RP of Byju’s K3 Education, asserting that assets valued at approximately ₹150 crore were sold for a mere ₹16 crore.
The tribunal, comprised of Judicial Member Sunil Kumar Aggarwal and Technical Member Radhakrishna Sreepada, has also involved Comprint Tech Solutions (India) Private Limited, the successful bidder, as a party to the proceedings. The NCLT observed that the ownership of several auctioned items was still disputable, warranting their preservation until further evidence is provided. “Even if part of the auctioned articles actually belonged to TLPL, the ownership of the rest of the articles remains in haze,” the tribunal noted.
The NCLT emphasized that maintaining the status quo would not disadvantage any involved parties, whereas any alteration in the assets’ status might be irreversible. Comprint has been instructed to provide a comprehensive inventory of the assets, along with photographs and details of their storage location. Both TLPL’s RP and Comprint are barred from altering the status of the auctioned assets until the next hearing.
This legal confrontation stems from separate insolvency proceedings involving two Byju’s group entities. The corporate insolvency resolution process for TLPL, which operates the Byju’s edtech platform, commenced in July 2024 following a petition from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over unpaid sponsorship obligations amounting to about ₹159 crore. Concurrently, Byju’s K3 Education is embroiled in a distinct insolvency process due to a Section 9 petition from operational creditor Kritikal Solutions Private Limited.
The current dispute revolves around tablets, electronic devices, and other goods housed in a warehouse linked to TLPL, Byju’s K3, and Aakash. The RP for Byju’s K3 alleged that a December 2024 communication from logistics firm Criticalog explicitly identified the assets as belonging to K3, which were allegedly transferred to TLPL’s security team and moved to an IndoSpace warehouse.
Repeated attempts by the RP of Byju’s K3 to access the warehouse and verify their assets were reportedly denied. Some of the contested items include specialized tablets loaded with educational content for children up to Class III. Conversely, TLPL’s RP contended that Byju’s K3 merely served as a service provider, with TLPL being the rightful owner of both the hardware and its contents. An auction notice was issued by TLPL’s RP on August 2, leading to an auction on August 14 where Comprint Tech Solutions emerged victorious.
Following the auction, the RP of Byju’s K3 approached the NCLT to halt the process. Upon learning that the auction had concluded, the tribunal on August 20 directed TLPL’s RP to submit detailed item-wise information, valuation, auction procedures, and details regarding the successful bidder and the account where the proceeds were deposited.
At a subsequent hearing on August 31, TLPL’s RP reported that all auctioned items were delivered to Comprint, while K3’s RP claimed at least 15 vehicles had transported the assets to Mumbai. Consequently, the NCLT directed Comprint to submit a complete inventory and location details of the purchased assets, including photographic evidence. The tribunal has not annulled the auction nor settled the ownership dispute over the assets, with the next hearing scheduled for September 21.
Representation for the RP of Byju’s K3 included advocates Manasi Kumar, Ayushi J D’Souza, and Aparna Gupta. Senior Advocate Abhinav Vasisht, alongside advocates Pooja Mahajan, Ichchha Kalash, Sparsh Jain, Harikrishna Pramod, Aishwarya Ravindranath, and Akshita Sachdeva Jaitly, appeared for TLPL’s RP. Senior Advocate Joy Saha represented the suspended directors.
