Byju’s wants BCCI dispute in arbitration; NCLT defers matter to February 7

Edtech behemoth Byju’s informed the National Company Law Tribunal on Wednesday that it had referred its dispute with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to an arbitrator, and was trying to settle the matter with the cricket administrator.

The company noted that the case contained both law and fact, which could only be settled via arbitration. It also said that it had filed objections to the insolvency petition filed by the BCCI in September last year.

“We have filed an application under the Arbitration Act for reference of the dispute to arbitration. The case filed by BCCI entails many disputed questions of law and facts, and those disputes need to be decided by an arbitral tribunal,” said Pramod Nair, a senior advocate representing the edtech firm, while also requesting more time to settle the matter.


On the other hand, counsel for the BCCI denied any negotiations and sought time to consult with the Board. It also asked the bench that the next hearing be listed as early as possible.

The Bengaluru bench of NCLT said the arbitration application would have no bearing on the insolvency proceedings and deferred the hearing to February 7, allowing the BCCI to file a reply to Byju’s objections.

The beleaguered edtech has been dragged to the insolvency tribunal by BCCI for non-payment of Rs 158 crore, excluding tax, for which the board had sent a demand notice last year in January.

The matter was heard on November 28, when the tribunal issued a notice to the tech start-up in response to the Section 9 petition filed by the BCCI to initiate insolvency proceedings against the company.

Bjyu’s initially signed a jersey sponsorship agreement with the BCCI in March 2019 for a period of three years, which was extended by one year.

The company had made the payments up till September 2022, and the dispute pertains to the payments from October 2022 till March 2023.

According to media reports, Byju’s, which has been facing financial troubles, wanted to terminate the agreement last year, but was asked by the Board to continue till March 2023.

The company had announced in January that it would not continue its jersey sponsorship deal with the BCCI.

“The debt concerns the sponsorship agreement, and Byju is planning to pay the full amount,” Byju’s official told ET after the hearing.