Byju's lenders accuse former management of attempting to dilute shareholding in Aakash Institute

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Bengaluru on Monday witnessed an intense exchange between the lawyers for the lenders of Byju's parent Think and Learn Private Limited and its Resolution Professional (RP) over Aakash Institute's Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to be held on November 20. .The lenders have accused Byju's former management, including Byju Raveendran, of attempting to dilute Think and Learn's shareholding in Aakash. Senior Advocate Uday Holla, who appeared for Glas Trust, said,"Without Aakash, Byju's will not be worth anything."Byju's acquired Aakash Coaching in 2021 at the peak of the pandemic. Aakash was the largest acquisition by Byju's, valued at $1 billion. It continued to make profits even after the pandemic owing to its physical outlets..Before the NCLT, the lenders alleged that the former management of the company tried to amend the Articles of Association (AoA) to effect the dilution of shareholding.Senior Advocate Ramji Srinivasan, who appeared for the RP, contended that Aakash is a subsidiary of Byju's and the RP would attend the EGM as a representative of Byju's. He further contended that the lenders were trying to make submissions without the case being listed.However, the lenders contended that Raveendran is at the helm of affairs of Aakash Coaching and the RP had not done anything to stop him from calling the shots in the company. "The RP must tell the tribunal what he was going to do at the EGM," Holla told the NCLT..Earlier, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for a Singapore-based investor of Byju's, had also sought for an urgent listing of the plea against the amendment of AoA. The NCLT is expected to hear the application on November 19. The Tribunal was informed that over 10 applications filed by various parties in the Byju's insolvency case were pending consideration before it. On hearing this, a coram of Judicial Member K Biswal and Technical Member Manoj Kumar Dubey urged Glas Trust company, which had moved the Karnataka High Court earlier, to seek an extension of time to hear and dispose of the petitions. Senior Advocate Aditya Sondhi also appeared for the RP. Senior Advocates Dhyan Chinnappa and KG Raghavan appeared for Byju and Riju Raveendran respectively. Senior Advocate CK Nandakumar appeared for BCCI. Senior Advocate Promod Nair appeared for Aditya Birla Finance..The Supreme Court had on October 23 allowed the appeal filed by Glas Trust challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) decision to halt insolvency proceedings initiated against Think & Learn.The judgment set aside the NCLAT order which accepted the settlement between Raveendran and the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI), on whose plea the NCLT Bengaluru in July admitted Byju's to the the insolvency process.Subsequently, on October 30, the Karnataka High Court barred the CoC of Think and Learn from meeting and taking decisions on the company's affairs till the NCLT decides on the applications to remove the company's RP.