Tribunal approves BCCI-BYJU's INR 158 crore settlement appeal

On Friday, August 02, the ongoing monetary and legal dispute between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and BYJU's took a positive turn. The edtech startup, which held title sponsorship for a brief period before Dream11 joined in, was alligated for defaulting pending dues worth a whopping INR 158 crore. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was recently approached by the parties for agreeing to settle their dues, wherein Byju Raveendran, the founder, would pay through his brother Riju.

The cricket board can now rest assured of the amount its ex-sponsor owes, avoiding expected delays through the judicial route. However, Raveendran has kept a condition that the insolvency process against the EduTech company be stopped at once. Notably, the tribunal has also approved the same, which signals that the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) would no more interfere in BYJU's operations.

This settlement plan, however, has been met with an opposition by GLAS Trust Company LLC, one of the creditors of BYJU's and an American firm, which says that the company is funding the settlement through stolen money, as reported by Bar & Bench.

Quashing the claims made by GLAS Trust, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented BCCI, clarified that their allegations were mere assumptions, and not facts. “BCCI will never condone any money that has come surreptitiously,” he said.

BCCI asked by Union Ministry to halt tobacco ads during matches

In another positive move by the Union Ministry of Health & Services, the BCCI has been asked to put a ban on advertising brands that promote tobacco & tobacco products. The request is to not allow such advertisements during live broadcast and streaming, as well as through ad banners at cricket stadiums. As a result, the board may soon take a call, acting on the same.

For the unversed, tobacco advertisements are already banner under the relevant sections of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003. However, brands cleverly counter this through surrogate advertisements, selling related products like cardamom and mouth fresheners.