- The Singapore High Court granted a stay on Byju Raveendran’s civil contempt order dated May 25
- Raveendran is not required to surrender or serve jail time following the stay and ongoing appeal
- The contempt ruling relates to disputed document disclosure in ongoing arbitration, not criminal charges
Following an application submitted on Byju Raveendran's behalf, the General Division of the Singapore High Court has granted a stay of its committal and surrender provisions of the recent civil contempt order dated May 25. This is a significant development for Edutech entrepreneur Raveendran, according to Raveendran's attorneys.
Raveendran is not obligated to turn himself in, and no jail sentence is imposed. There has also been an appeal against the contempt ruling, reported ANI. Raveendran was not supposed to show up on June 15 under the initial May 25 ruling. No arrest warrant was issued against Raveendran.
The order under appeal, according to Raveendran's attorneys, is a civil contempt finding that resulted only from disputed document disclosure and other obligations in ongoing arbitration proceedings (and related Singapore Court Orders recognising those arbitration orders), for which parallel proceedings are in progress to set aside those underlying orders.
"There was a completely false public narrative created after the selective verbal leak of the earlier order by the Singapore Court falsely claiming an arrest warrant had been issued against Mr Raveendran," stated J Michael McNutt, senior litigation adviser to Byju Raveendran and the founders, Lazareff Le Bars.
"A standard contract disagreement involving a debt that Raveendran guaranteed for Think & Learn has been misrepresented as an arrest warrant. We are pursuing additional legal action and have submitted the required appeals to overturn this civil contempt ruling. In that regard, Byju Raveendran is not facing any criminal charges.
"It is not a verdict on the merits of the underlying dispute, nor is it a verdict on fraud, dishonesty, financial diversion, or personal misconduct. No court in any jurisdiction has found against Raveendran in this way," he added.
"The Singapore Court's decision to grant a stay is a significant step in ensuring that the matter is examined fairly and in the correct legal context," McNutt continued in his remarks regarding the delay. "We will keep using every legal option at our disposal to overturn the civil contempt ruling. We contend that Raveendran did not knowingly or unintentionally break any Singaporean court orders."
Meanwhile, Byju Raveendran welcomed the stay granted by the Singapore Court.
"Regrettably, a false perception of wrongdoing is being produced during a period when parties have been involved in settlement negotiations. I'm still determined to use the proper legal channels to correct this narrative," Raveendran said. "My family and I have returned more than Rs 5,000 crore of our own wealth to the company; neither I nor any of the founders personally got any part of the contested funds."
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