New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed a plea filed by the Resolution Professional (RP) of the Think and Learn Private Limited (TLPL), the parent company of edtech firm Byju’s, against an earlier order by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The NCLT had directed that the shareholding in Aakash Educational Services should remain unchanged until further hearings. A two-member bench of the NCLAT, comprising Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma and Jatindranath Swain, observed that the NCLT’s direction was an interim, or interlocutory, order and appeared to be a “consensual” one.
Therefore, there was no need for the appellate tribunal to intervene at this stage, it said. “Since the impugned order takes the shape of an interlocutory order, which is not deciding any of the rights of the parties, coupled with the fact that the order takes the shape of a consenting order, no interference is called for by this Tribunal in the exercise of its Appellate Jurisdiction at this stage,” the NCLAT stated.
The dispute arose from concerns over equity fundraising activities by Aakash Educational Services, in which TLPL holds a 25 per cent stake. On March 27, the NCLT had directed all parties to maintain the status quo regarding Aakash’s shareholding until the next hearing.
The TLPL, through its Resolution Professional, later challenged this direction before the Chennai bench of the NCLAT. Meanwhile, the matter also reached the Karnataka High Court, and on April 8, it set aside the NCLT’s earlier order and sent the case back to the insolvency tribunal.
During the next NCLT hearing on April 30, the TLPL’s counsel, senior advocate Abhinav Vasisht, raised concerns that the TLPL’s shareholding in Aakash was being diluted and that important assets were being hypothecated.He further claimed that changes had been made to the Articles of Association of Aakash, which had earlier protected the TLPL’s interests.
Given the complexity of the case and the upcoming summer break, the NCLT passed a temporary ‘consent order’ on April 30. The order stated that the TLPL’s shareholding in Aakash should not be diluted until the tribunal could fully hear the matter.
However, the TLPL again challenged this interim direction, arguing that their concerns were not being fully addressed. The NCLAT, after hearing the appeal, concluded that the NCLT’s order was not final and did not warrant intervention. As a result, the appellate tribunal dismissed the TLPL’s appeal.
