NCLT issues notice to Byju's resolution professional on Aakash's rights issue plea

The Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday issued a notice to Shailendra Ajmera, the resolution professional of Byju’s parent Think & Learn Pvt Ltd (TLPL), to submit a response to a petition filed by Aakash Educational Services questioning the legality of the funds raised by TLPL to subscribe to the rights issue.

The development follows Aakash moving the NCLT on December 9, seeking regulatory clarity and urging the tribunal to seek a report from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the classification and permissibility of the debenture subscription agreement.

Last month, Aakash’s board of directors concluded a Rs 100 crore rights issue and approved the allotment of shares to its largest shareholder, Manipal Group, and Byju Raveendran-owned entity Beeaar Investco. The two entities have invested Rs 58 crore and Rs 16 crore, respectively, in line with their shareholdings of 58.8% and 16%.


However, the board put TLPL’s share allotment on hold, citing concerns that the Rs 25 crore remitted by it did not comply with the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the Companies Act, 2013, or the external commercial borrowing (ECB) guidelines.

The matter will be heard on January 2. Queries sent to Ajmera did not elicit any response.

“This was not an adversarial application, and AESL had approached the Tribunal in the interest of all stakeholders, as it was unable to utilise the funds received from TLPL in view of the regulatory violations alleged,” argued senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, representing Aakash.

Senior advocate Abhinav Vasisht, representing the RP, has opposed the petition, contending that the application was not maintainable. The RP had earlier moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), claiming that there had been no violation of law in raising funds for participation in the rights issue and seeking directions for allotment of shares.

The coaching centre operator may initiate another rights issue for Rs 140 crore. Earlier, Aakash had said that it is urgently in need of funds to keep its operations running.