The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the preservation of email communications associated with the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of edtech company Think & Learn Pvt Ltd (Byju’s). The order was passed amid ongoing insolvency proceedings and a connected criminal investigation initiated by the company’s founder, Byju Raveendran.

Justice M Nagaprasanna issued the interim direction in response to a plea filed by Raveendran, who sought the protection of crucial digital evidence, particularly communications linked to the official CIRP email ID — ip.byjus@outlook.com.

“The only prayer that can be granted, at this juncture, is directing the 5th respondent to preserve all the emails or conversations between the protagonists/stakeholders in the case at hand, subject to further orders that would be passed after hearing the parties,” the Court stated.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

Byju’s was admitted to CIRP in July 2024 after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru, accepted a plea by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over a payment default of ₹158 crore. The tribunal appointed Pankaj Srivastava as the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP).

Subsequently, the NCLAT closed the proceedings after a settlement was recorded, with Riju Raveendran, Byju’s brother, personally undertaking the repayment. However, the Supreme Court later reversed this decision and directed the NCLT to reassess the matter. Srivastava was later removed for allegedly neglecting his duties as IRP.

Meanwhile, Byju Raveendran filed an FIR in Bengaluru, accusing Ernst & Young, Srivastava, and GLAS Trust (a financial creditor) of engaging in a criminal conspiracy against him.

ALLEGATIONS OF EMAIL DELETION

Raveendran, in his latest petition, alleged that during a Committee of Creditors (CoC) meeting held on April 8, a decision was taken to delete over 2,000 emails linked to the CIRP and the ongoing criminal investigation. He contended that such deletion would cause irreparable harm to the investigation, as neither he nor the police had access to the email account in question.

PRAYERS MADE BEFORE THE COURT

The petition requested multiple directions, including:

• Preservation of all emails from the CIRP account
• Seizure of the email account and prevention of further data loss
• Recovery of deleted emails relevant to the investigation
• Production of the case diary in Crime No. 44/2025
• Restraint on the Resolution Professional from appointing a third-party IT expert, as discussed in the April 8 CoC meeting
• Staying the decisions taken during the meeting pending resolution of the current and related petitions

ARGUMENTS PRESENTED

Appearing for Raveendran, Advocate Shyammohan V submitted that around 2,400 emails were deleted under the tenure of the previous RP during a so-called “re-foldering” exercise. He emphasized the importance of these communications as key pieces of evidence.

The State, represented by Additional Government Advocate Rahul Cariappa, informed the Court that the investigation arising from the FIR had been stayed by a coordinate bench of the High Court on March 17, 2025.

Senior Advocate Udaya Holla, representing GLAS Trust, requested time to respond on other interim reliefs but had no objection to the preservation of emails.

HIGH COURT OBSERVATIONS AND RULING

The Court noted that while many of the petitioner’s concerns pertain to decisions under the CIRP and CoC — falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the NCLT and NCLAT — immediate relief could be granted regarding the preservation of digital evidence.

“The only prayer that can be granted, at this juncture, is directing the 5th respondent to preserve all the emails or conversations between the protagonists/stakeholders in the case at hand,” the Court reiterated.

In light of the stay on the criminal probe, the Court declined to issue directions regarding the production of the case diary or the progress of the investigation.

CONCLUSION

The High Court granted interim relief by directing the preservation of all email communications linked to Byju’s CIRP, marking a crucial step in protecting digital evidence amid a complex web of insolvency and criminal proceedings.