The Supreme Court on Thursday did not heed to repeated requests by debt-ridden edtech firm Byju’s and the Board of Control for Cricket in India to defer the Committee of Creditors (CoC) from meeting.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had, on August 14, stayed the operation of a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) decision allowing Byju’s to pay a settlement amount of ₹158 crore to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The order followed an appeal filed by US-based lender Glas Trust Company LLC, a financial creditor which said it had a claim of ₹8,500 crore over the edtech firm.

On August 22, the Bench gave Glas, represented by senior advocate Shyam Divan, time to respond to an affidavit filed by the opposite party.

Senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for Byju’s, said the court must “balance equities” on its side too. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for BCCI, said “98 per cent of the CoC was Divan’s client”. Divan said his client had not constituted a CoC. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who joined the hearing on the side of Divan, said the stay order on August 14 was itself a result of the court’s prima facie findings leaning in favour of Glas.

The NCLAT decision, on August 2, allowing the settlement was based on the reasoning that BCCI would not accept any tainted money. The amount of ₹ 158 crore was offered by Riju Raveendran, Byju’s brother. It was generated in India, for which income tax was paid. The money was received through banking channels.

Glas had argued that the “drill of the law” was not followed in the settlement between Byju’s and the BCCI. The US lender had said, as a major financial creditor, it should have got priority in repayments.

Singhvi had described Glas’s appeal as a show of ego. “Apart from an ego, he (Glas) has a claim of ₹8,500 crore,” the Chief Justice reacted. The court had issued notice to Byju Raveendran, his company Think and Learn Private Limited and the BCCI.