US Bankruptcy Court finds Byju Raveendran in contempt, imposes daily fines
The US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware imposed a daily sanction of $10,000, accruing from July 1, 2025, until Byju Raveendran remains in contempt of the orders.
The US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware has found BYJU’S co‑founder Byju Raveendran in civil contempt for failing to comply with two earlier court orders, as per a ruling issued on July 7, 2025.
BYJU’S Alpha, a unit created by the embattled edtech firm in the US, and GLAS Trust, the trustee for term loan lenders, had successfully obtained an accelerated discovery order. In US legal practice, discovery is the pre‑trial process by which litigants exchange evidence and information.
Judge Brendan L Shannon confirmed the court’s “personal jurisdiction”—its legal power to compel Raveendran’s compliance—and determined that he had failed to comply with both orders. In the US procedure, a finding of civil contempt indicates that a party has intentionally disobeyed a court order, thereby obstructing the administration of justice.
“Raveendran shall remit to the Clerk of Court the sum of $10,000 for each day he remains in contempt of the Orders. These monetary sanctions shall begin on July 1, 2025 and, absent further Order of this Court, shall accrue each day thereafter until further order of the Court finding that the contempt has been purged,” the order said.
Additionally, BYJU’S Alpha and GLAS Trust may submit a “bill of costs” detailing their legal fees and expenses within 30 days. Raveendran will have seven days thereafter to raise any objections before the court determines the final award.
“Byju is aware of the Order for Civil Contempt issued yesterday after a hearing held on 30 June 2025 attended by his recently engaged legal counsel. Byju will address the Order in due course and reserves all rights. I wish to make clear that this Order relates only to discovery requested by the opposing parties. Byju contests the jurisdiction of the Court over him and reserves all rights,” said J Michael McNutt, Senior Litigation Advisor, Lazareff Le Bars Eurl, who represents Raveendran.
In April, BYJU’S Alpha filed a lawsuit in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on behalf of the term loan lenders, accusing founder Byju Raveendran, co-founder Divya Gokulnath, and advisor Anita Kishore of orchestrating a scheme to conceal and misappropriate the $533 million in loan proceeds.
BYJU’S Alpha, a Delaware special purpose vehicle created to receive proceeds from a $1.2-billion term loan B, was seized by creditors and placed under Chapter 11 bankruptcy after alleged mismanagement and diversion of $533 million in loan proceeds.
BYJU’S, once hailed as India’s most valuable startup, is now facing bankruptcy proceedings in both India and the US. Last month, the group of term loan lenders sold two US-based companies it had acquired in 2021 in a bid to recover funds.
The two US-based companies—Epic!, a digital reading platform for children, and Tynker, a K-12 coding platform—were acquired by BYJU’S for $500 million and $200 million, respectively, but were sold at steep discounts of 81% and 99% off their acquisition values. Judge Shannon had approved the sales of both Tynker and Epic! at a hearing held on May 20.
The Bengaluru-based edtech firm continues to battle a growing number of legal challenges on multiple fronts.
(The article was updated with a comment from Byju Raveendran’s lawyer.)
Edited by Kanishk Singh