byju’s: Byju’s wants BCCI dispute in arbitration; NCLT defers matter to February 7

India’s edtech behemoth Byju’s informed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru, Wednesday, that it had referred its dispute with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to an arbitrator and was trying to settle the matter with the cricket administrator.

The company noted that the case contained both law and fact, which could only be settled via arbitration. It also said that it had filed objections to the insolvency petition filed by BCCI last year in September.

“We have filed an application under the Arbitration Act for reference of the dispute to arbitration. The case filed by BCCI entails many disputed questions of law and facts, and those disputes need to be decided by arbitral tribunal, said Pramod Nair, senior advocate representing the edtech firm, while also requesting a longer date to settle the matter.

On the other hand, BCCI counsels denied any negotiations and asked the tribunal time to consult with the board and asked that the bench give a short date.

The Bengaluru bench of NCLT opined that the arbitration application would have no bearing on the insolvency proceedings and deferred the hearing to February 7, allowing the BCCI to file a reply to Byju’s objections.

The company has been dragged to the insolvency tribunal by BCCI for non-payment of Rs 158 crore, excluding tax, for which the board had sent a demand notice last year in January.

The matter was heard on November 28, when the tribunal issued notice to the tech startup in response to the Section 9 petition filed by the BCCI to initiate insolvency proceedings against the company.The edtech firm initially signed a jersey sponsorship agreement from the BCCI in March 2019 for three years, which it extended for one year.

The company had made the payments up till September 2022, the dispute pertains to the payments from October 2022 till March 2023.

According to media reports, Byju’s, which has been facing financial troubles, wanted to terminate the agreement last year, but was asked by the Board to continue till March 2023. The company had announced in January that it would not continue its jersey sponsorship deal with the BCCI.

“The debt concerns the sponsorship agreement, and Byju is planning to pay the full amount,” Byju’s official told ET after the hearing.

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