Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has escalated his legal battle against edtech company Cue Learn Private Ltd by moving the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) over an alleged ₹4.83 crore payment default related to an endorsement deal.
Official filings reveal that Akshay Kumar fulfilled all contractual obligations, having received only ₹4.05 crore as the first installment. The second installment, which was due irrespective of further brand activities, was never paid. Cue Learn reportedly withheld payment citing reasons like unreceived invoices and scheduling conflicts.
Akshay’s legal team initially approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, seeking recovery of the unpaid dues dating back to 2021. However, the Delhi bench of the NCLT dismissed the case, ruling that contractual disputes not involving operational or financial debt do not fall under the tribunal’s insolvency jurisdiction.
In its order, the NCLT clarified, “The tribunal’s role is limited to insolvency resolution for qualifying debts and cannot extend to contractual disputes. “Undeterred, Akshay Kumar’s lawyers appealed this decision at the NCLAT, contending that Cue Learn was contractually obliged to pay the remaining ₹4 crore regardless of promotional activities.
They also argued that the NCLT had not fully examined the relevant contract clauses in its initial ruling. The NCLAT is currently reviewing the submissions from Akshay’s counsel and considering the matter further. Stay tuned to know more about it and others only with us and if you have anything to share, do comment below and share your thoughts.
