NCLT Admits Byju's K3 Education To Insolvency Over Rs 1.76 Crore Unpaid Debt

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Bengaluru recently admitted Byju's K3 Education Pvt Ltd, another Byju's group company, to insolvency over an unpaid operational debt of Rs. 1.76 crore. The order was passed on October 15, 2025, following a petition by an Operational creditor-Kritikal Solutions Pvt Ltd. A coram comprising Judicial Member Sunil Kumar Aggarwal and Technical Member Radhakrishna Sreepada while admitting the company to insolvency appointed Pankaj Kumar as the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) to manage the insolvency process.Byju's K3 Education offers personalized learning solutions for K-12 students and aspirants of competitive exams like JEE, NEET, and UPSC. Kritikal Solutions, a provider of R&D and AI services, entered into a Master Services Agreement with Byju's K3 Education Pvt. Ltd. in August 2020 to deliver various engineering and R&D-related services. It provided services from August 2019, issuing invoices regularly. However, between September and November 2022, three key invoices totaling Rs. 1.91 crore (excluding TDS) went unpaid.After multiple recovery attempts and issuing a statutory demand notice on July 31, 2024, Kritikal filed the petition on January 6, 2025. Byju's K3 did not respond or raise any dispute.Kritikal argued that the claim qualified as operational debt under Section 5(21) of the IBC. It stressed that Byju's K3 defaulted without any genuine or pre-existing dispute. The petitioner cited Supreme Court precedents that held “that failure to respond to a duly served demand notice entitles the operational creditor to file an application under Section 9.”The Tribunal agreed, observing that “undisputed claims must not remain unpaid, as doing so would undermine commercial discipline.” It found the Corporate Debtor's silence reinforced the presumption that the debt was undisputed. The petition was admitted, triggering a moratorium under Section 14 of the IBC, which bars any legal action against Byju's K3 during the CIRP. The IRP was directed to form the Committee of Creditors and take all necessary steps. Kritikal was ordered to deposit Rs. 2 lakh with the IRP to cover procedural expenses. The matter is next listed for December 8, 2025.Case Title: Kritikal Solutions Pvt Ltd Vs Byju's K3 Education Pvt LtdCase Number: CP (IB) No.29/BB/2025For Petitioner: Advocate Sanjeet PClick here to read/download order

NCLT Admits Byju's K3 Education To Insolvency Over Rs 1.76 Crore Unpaid Debt

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