A US bankruptcy court has issued an order holding Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran in civil contempt for failing to comply with earlier court orders related to limited expedited discovery. The Lazareff Le Bars Eurl legal team representing him said both Byju and Divya Gokulnath were actively participating in the Delaware court proceedure that was initiated in early April by the Glas Trust bankruptcy subsidiary. The ed-tech founder has disputed the jurisdiction of that Court to determine the claims made against him.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has further directed Raveendran to comply with the discovery orders and remit to the clerk of court the sum of $10,000 for each day he remains in contempt of the orders.
Discovery, a standard procedure in American litigation, requires parties to share relevant evidence and information with opposing counsel during legal proceedings.
Byju’s legal counsel says…
“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.” the legal counsel said in a press note.
What is the case?
The contempt order emerges from litigation filed by US-based lenders in April against Raveendran, his spouse Divya Gokulnath, and ex-executive Anita Kishore. The lawsuit accuses the trio of orchestrating a complex scheme to conceal and wrongfully divert $533 million borrowed by Byju’s Alpha, the company’s US-based financing vehicle.
Previous court findings have identified multiple instances of fraudulent transfers and theft within the company structure. Lenders successfully argued that Riju Ravindran, the founder’s brother and suspended director, breached his fiduciary duties while serving on Byju’s Alpha’s board.
Back in India, both brothers have petitioned the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for relief, requesting a halt to creditor committee proceedings and the resolution professional’s removal.