Byju Raveendran lost immediate operational control of his edtech start-up after the bankruptcy petition filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India was approved. This comes months after major investors had called for his ouster from the company he founded.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday appointed an insolvency professional to oversee the day-to-day operations of Byju's while hearing a bankruptcy petition filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) against the online tutor.

Byju's, the former sponsorship partner of the Indian cricket team, was taken to the bankruptcy court by the BCCI after it defaulted on dues of Rs 158 crore. Tuesday's ruling is the first in the case.

The Bengaluru bench of the tribunal said, "There is no reason to reject the petition... as the existence of debt and default in repayment of debt is clearly established." That's

The NCLT bench, headed by Justices K Biswal and Manoj Kumar Dubey, appointed Pankaj Shrivastava as the interim insolvency resolution professional to oversee Baiju's operations till the matter is concluded.

The main responsibility of the resolution professional is to compile the details of the entire dues to be paid to all the shareholders of BYJU'S and form a committee of creditors.

The case relating to the alleged abuse and mismanagement filed by MIH Edtech and General Atlantic, the investors of Byju's, was referred to the NCLT division bench on Tuesday.

The latest development comes as Byju's, once India's most valuable start-up, appears to have got some relief from a series of legal cases that have caught it in the middle of a financial crisis and an escalating battle with some major investors.

On Monday, Surfer Technologies withdrew its insolvency petition against Byju's, informing the NCLT that it has reached a settlement with the edtech firm, which may lead to the withdrawal of their petition. A similar out-of-court settlement with the Byju's Cricket Board could not be reached.

Byju's had signed up in 2019 to feature the branding on the front of the Indian cricket team's jersey. In June last year, Byju's extended its sponsorship rights with the BCCI till November 2023. The company had asked the cricket board to encash the bank guarantee of Rs 140 crore.

The BCCI had approached the NCLT against Byju's parent company, Think and Learn Private Limited, in September for an outstanding of Rs 158 crore.

According to Tuesday's NCLT order, BYJU'S has never disputed the payment of the agreed fee as per the agreement with the BCCI. "However, despite acknowledging the dues, the corporate debtor (BYJU'S) failed to pay and instead repeatedly requested the BCCI to extend the time for payment," the NCLT said in its 38-page order.

In November, Byju's had indicated that it would negotiate a settlement with the BCCI. But the company's financial crisis did not allow it to pay its dues to the cricket board or its debt to other creditors.

In November, Byju's had indicated that it would negotiate a settlement with the BCCI. But the company's financial crisis did not allow it to pay its dues to the cricket board or its debt to other creditors.

In January this year, Byju's approached the NCLT seeking to refer the parties in the BCCI case to arbitration. On Tuesday, the tribunal said the application was not maintainable.

In February, a consortium of four Byju's investors - Prosus NV, General Atlantic, Sofina and Peak XV Partners, backed by Tiger Global and Owl Ventures - moved the NCLT against the edtech firm's controversial $200 million rights issue.

Under the insolvency process, all legal cases against Byju's will enter a moratorium period by suspending the proceedings. But that would make the edtech firm's efforts to raise $200 million through the rights issue futile and hamper its ability to clear its dues, including that of the BCCI.

Baiju's foreign investors have taken the company to court in Delaware over a $1.2 -billion term loan B (TLB). They have also filed a bankruptcy petition before the bench of NCLT in Bengaluru seeking repayment of the loan.

Brajmohan added that if Byju's reaches an out-of-court settlement with the BCCI before the creditors' committee is formed, the resolution professional will be able to inform the NCLT and get an order to stop the insolvency proceedings.

"However, if the settlement is not reached even after the formation of the CoC, then BYJU'S will have to get the approval of the majority for the settlement to be valid," Brajmohan said.