NCLT dismisses Akshay Kumar insolvency plea against ed-tech firm Cue Learn

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar recently faced a setback in his legal battle as the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) dismissed his insolvency petition against the ed-tech company Cue Learn Pvt. Ltd. The dispute revolves around an endorsement agreement Kumar signed with Cue Learn in March 2021, for a total fee of ₹8.10 crore. According to the terms, this amount was to be paid in two equal installments. While the first installment was duly paid, the second installment, amounting to ₹4.83 crore, was allegedly withheld by the company.

Akshay Kumar filed the petition under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), claiming that the unpaid amount constituted “operational debt.” However, Cue Learn argued that the second installment was conditional upon Kumar’s availability for a mutually agreed second endorsement day, which, according to the company, did not materialize due to a lack of response from Kumar’s side.

The NCLT sided with Cue Learn, ruling that claim of Akshay Kumar did not qualify as “operational debt” under the IBC. The tribunal clarified that such disputes arising from an alleged breach of contract do not fall within the purview of the insolvency framework but rather should be addressed in civil courts as claims for liquidated damages. Consequently, the tribunal deemed Kumar’s petition as not maintainable and dismissed the plea.

“As the debt in question does not qualify as operational debt, we do not deem it appropriate to delve into further facts and merits of the case. The essence of the IBC lies in resolving insolvency matters through a processdriven approach, and any deviation from its prescribed scope would undermine the legislative intent of the Code,” said the New Delhi bench of the NCLT in its order dated 7 January 2025.

Founded in 2013 by Manan Khurma, Cue Learn (also Cuemath) is an ed tech company focused on math learning for K-12 students. The company claims that its mission is to make the world’s children great at math, and create invincible problem-solvers who will go on to solve humanity’s greatest problems.

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