Byju’s lenders kicked off creditor panel by court official Srivastava

The decision by the official, who is overseeing an insolvency case against Byju’s, means that the lenders won’t get a say on who should run the startup and steer a restructuring plan.

The removal is a setback for the lenders, represented by investment firm Glas Trust, and their effort to collect more than $1.2 billion from the troubled startup. Glas Trust has been the most vocal opponent of a settlement agreement Byju’s struck with an Indian creditor — the country’s cricket governing body — to escape insolvency. The investment firm has filed a petition to void the agreement with the cricket body, arguing that it deserves to be paid first — the arbitrator’s decision means technically that court may allow the settlement to proceed.

The lenders said they didn’t get a chance to vote on who should run Byju’s while a plan to repay creditors is put together. The lenders accused the official — Byju’s Interim Resolution Professional Pankaj Srivastava — of “secretly plotting to reject” their claims and of manipulating the creditors vote by excluding them.