byju’s investors nclt lawsuit: Investors move NCLT against Byju’s; file oppression, mismanagement lawsuit

A group of four investors in Byju’s led by Dutch investment firm Prosus on Friday moved the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), filing a petition for oppression and mismanagement of the company.

The investors are seeking to remove founder Byju Raveendran as chief executive officer of the troubled edtech firm and overhauling of the board. Raveendran’s wife and Byju’s cofounder Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Raveendran are the other two members of the board at Think & Learn–the parent of Byju’s.

A spokesperson for Byju’s said it has not received any formal intimation of any petition being filed in the NCLT.

According to people aware of the petition, the investors called for the present management to be declared as ‘unfit’ to run the company and that the CEO and board should be replaced. “They have asked for management to share information and also conduct a forensic audit as well as declare the rights issue as invalid,” said one of the persons cited above.

Investors have moved NCLT even as an extraordinary general meeting of Byju’s is underway on Friday. Investors attending the meeting were allegedly disrupted by employees of the embattled startup when the virtual call commenced around 9 am.

Raveendran and family members have refused to attend the EGM, terming it as ‘invalid.’