The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) petition seeking insolvency proceedings against edtech major Byju's. The BCCI had sought initiation of insolvency proceedings against the edtech company over alleged unpaid dues of INR 158 crore under their sponsorship contract for the Indian cricket team.

In September last year, BCCI applied to the Bengaluru bench of NCLT against Think & Learn, the parent company of Byju’s over defaulting on dues of close to INR 160 crore. The case pertains to the dispute around the sponsorship rights of the Indian cricket team’s jerseys, following which the bankruptcy tribunal registered the matter for further hearing on 15 November.

The beleaguered ed-tech firm had then said it was in talks with BCCI to settle a pending insolvency matter filed against it in Bengaluru NCLT. The NCLT said in its order, “It is stated that the General notice was issued to Byju’s vide email dated 06.01.2023 and the default amount of INR158 crore, excluding TDS (tax deducted at source) as reflected in the invoices attached."

Byju's had partnered with the BCCI in 2019 after mobile manufacturer Oppo transferred the sponsorship rights to the online tutorial firm. This partnership ended before it's tenure with Dream11 replacing Byju's in early 2023.  Along with the BCCI, Byju's was also a commercial partner of the ICC (International Cricket Council), and FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association). These were up for renewal in 2023 but were not processed. 

The addition of this latest plea shows the mounting dues that Byju’s owes amid its existing financial burdens, including legal battles and debt issues. Earlier in May this year, Oppo had approached the NCLT for an insolvency plea against the edtech company.