IBBI Suspends Byju's Former Resolution Professional Pankaj Srivastava For Three Years

The Disciplinary Committee of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has suspended the registration of insolvency professional Pankaj Srivastava for three years, holding that he improperly reconstituted the Committee of Creditors in the insolvency of Think and Learn Private Limited, the parent company of the ed-tech firm Byju's, and misled the Adjudicating Authority.

In its order dated February 24, 2026, the Committee, comprising Whole Time Members Bhushan Kumar Sinha and Jayanti Prasad, held that Srivastava filed two separate applications before the Tribunal, both stating that the Committee of Creditors was constituted on August 21, 2024, but showing entirely different compositions.

In the later filing, Glas Trust Company LLC, which held a 99.41 percent voting share in the earlier committee, was not included. Aditya Birla Finance Limited was reclassified as an operational creditor. The committee held that this amounted to a reconstitution of the committee without authority, without notice to affected creditors, and without approval of the adjudicating authority.

The Committee recorded that Srivastava did not disclose the earlier filing while submitting the subsequent application and that he signed affidavits certifying two different Committee structures for the same date.

The Disciplinary Committee observed:

“The DC notes that the composition of the CoC determines the entire course of CIRP of the Corporate Debtor including the voting share, control, eligibility of resolution plans, and strategic decisions. Removing a financial creditor and altering another's classification fundamentally changes the CoC's structure. Further, the affected creditors were not given notice or opportunity of being heard before the re constitution of the CoC. This procedural impropriety constitutes misconduct. Mr. Pankaj Srivastava being the RP is obligated to maintain accuracy, transparency, and candour in pleadings. Filing two different CoC compositions for the same date, without disclosure of the earlier composition, creates a presumption of negligence and misleading.”

While the insolvency process was ongoing, the original applicant, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, sought withdrawal of the proceedings after a settlement. The Supreme Court had observed that parties were at liberty to seek withdrawal in compliance with the framework governing the Code.

Even though the Committee of Creditors had already been constituted on August 19, 2024, Srivastava moved a withdrawal application before the Tribunal without first placing the request before the Committee and without securing the mandatory 90 percent approval. The Disciplinary Committee held that once the Committee had been formed, any withdrawal could be processed only in accordance with Section 12A and Regulation 30A.

Srivastava was subsequently replaced as resolution professional after the Committee of creditors resolved to seek his substitution. The Adjudicating Authority appointed Shailendra Ajmera as the new resolution professional by order dated February 24, 2025.

Exercising powers under Section 220 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the Board suspended Srivastava's registration for three years. The suspension will take effect after 30 days.