A US bankruptcy court has reversed a $1 billion damages ruling against Byju Raveendran, according to a statement from the founders of Think and Learn Pvt Ltd – the parent firm of ed-tech platform Byju’s.
Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff
The Delaware Court had in a default ruling last month ordered Raveendran to pay more than $1 billion, saying the former corporate star who set up the eponymous Indian edtech and tutoring company, had refused to cooperate with legal efforts to locate almost half the proceeds from a $1.2 billion US term loan made in 2021.
He, however, contested the grounds saying the court did not give him the 30 days he had sought to arrange for a US attorney to argue his case.
He vowed to appeal against the order.
“The Delaware Court has reversed the $1 billion Judgement against Byju Raveendran, in view of fresh submissions made by Byju Raveendran through a motion to correct the Judgement of 20 November 2025.
“The court agreed that damages had not been determined and ordered a new phase to commence in early January 2026 to determine any damages related to claims against Byju Raveendran,” the statement said.
Earlier this year, Byju’s creditors including GLAS Trust sued and accused Raveendran, along with his co-founder wife Divya Gokulnath and another accomplice Anita Kishore of “masterminding the theft” of $533 million in loan proceeds.
The founders had previously called the allegations “completely baseless and untrue” and that the entire loan proceeds were ploughed back into Think and Learn Pvt Ltd (TLPL), which used it to pay for the $3 billion acquisitions it did that year.
“GLAS Trust and the lenders withheld or misrepresented information, misleading courts and the public, and contributing to the collapse of the business, the loss of roughly 85,000 jobs, impacting 250 million students, and the destruction of tens of billions in enterprise value,” the statement on Wednesday said.
Raveendran is considering further action against GLAS Trust and others for that conduct, it said without elaborating.
He had previously said he would sue GLAS Trust for $2.5 billion.
His litigation advisor Michael McNutt said, “Byju Raveendran today has not been found liable to pay a single dollar in damages to the Plaintiffs (GLAS Trust Co LLC).”
“During the damages proceedings starting January 2026, we intend to demonstrate to the Court that not only have the Plaintiffs suffered no damage whatsoever due to actions of Byju Raveendran, but also that the Plaintiffs have intentionally misled the court in this proceeding and other adversary proceedings.
“We also intend to demonstrate that these Plaintiffs have sought to mislead courts in India and elsewhere to gain advantage in those court proceedings by harassing and damaging Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath, and Riju Ravindran,” he said.
Stating that the defendants reserve the right to seek sanctions against GLAS Trust’s counsel for their conduct in these proceedings, he said, “We will seek the necessary remedy in the Delaware Courts and through the $2.5 billion lawsuit that we intend to file prior to the end of the year.”
The statement said Raveendran will submit “clinching evidence” before the US Courts, proving that GLAS Trust and the Resolution Professional (now managing Byju’s) repeatedly misled the Delaware Court, Indian and other Courts, and the public by falsely alleging that $533 million (Alpha Funds) was diverted by the founders for their personal benefit.
“GLAS Trust’s sworn statements that it “does not know” where the money went are simply false.
“A review of information in the possession of GLAS Trust since at least April 2025 clearly demonstrates that the monies lent to Alpha (and sent by OCI to companies owned by Byju Raveendran) were indeed invested in Think & Learn in compliance with all relevant Indian laws and not 壮iphoned off’ to the founders,” it said.
The evidence obtained by GLAS Trust’s own lawyers in other adversarial proceedings and later obtained by Raveendran and his counsel clearly demonstrates that GLAS Trust and Shailendra Ajmera – the Resolution Professional of TLPL – had full visibility into the use of the funds from the Alpha Loan guaranteed by TLPL, it said.
“In addition, the financial records of TLPL available publicly verify that Byju Raveendran and entities controlled by him invested in excess of $475 million by purchasing shares in TLPL in the same period,” it said.
“This evidence will be submitted as part of a full appeal against the entire amended judgment of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court of December 8, 2025, and as part of the claim to be filed against relevant parties previously announced with a value of over $2.5 billion.
“Byju Raveendran will also share the same evidence with the Indian Courts in the coming weeks.”
