MUMBAI: High drama unfolded as an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of Byju's shareholders got underway on Friday to vote on a resolution brought by some investors to ouster founder CEO Byju Raveendran and his family over alleged 'mismanagement and failures' leading to a myriad of troubles at the edtech company.

Byju's founder and his family decided to skip the EGM calling it procedurally invalid and after the EGM late on February 22, Raveendran wrote a letter to shareholders, saying his and the promoters' absence would invalidate the EGM proceedings.

The EGM led by Prosus one of the investors of Byju's along with General Atlantic and Peak XV on Friday voted to sack Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Byju Raveendran and his family from edtech company Byju’s. According to a statement of a spokesperson from Prosus, "At today’s Extraordinary General Meeting, shareholders unanimously passed all resolutions put forward for vote. These included a request for the resolution of the outstanding governance, financial mismanagement and compliance issues at BYJU’s the reconstitution of the Board of Directors so that it is no longer controlled by the founders of T&L; and a change in leadership of the Company."

"As shareholders and significant investors, we are confident in our position on the validity of the EGM meeting and its decisive outcome, which we will now present to the Karnataka High Court in line with due process,” the Prosus statement said. The four big investors of edtech firm Byju's filed a mismanagement suit in the NCLT, seeking the removal of Raveendran from the board of directors.

The shareholders in the edtech company filed a mismanagement and oppression suit against Raveendran in a bid to oust him from the firm, a day after the Karnataka High Court gave a March breather to the edtech founder. Further, the suit filed by the shareholders also seeks a forensic audit of the company, the appointment of a new board and the rights issue void.

Byju Raveendran on his part wrote to shareholders for the second time in a week saying the EGM was "procedurally invalid, contractually in contravention" articles of association and shareholder agreement, "legally on the wrong side of the Companies Act, 2013, and fundamentally designed and timed to create a media circus around it". Sources said he wrote that the investors seeking his ouster, have assumed the roles of judge, jury, and executioner.

He quoted the Wednesday order by Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde of the Karnataka HC and said: "The decision, if any, taken by the shareholders of Byju's in the EGM scheduled on February 23 shall not be given effect till the next date of hearing." He went on to add that he was confident of getting a favourable final verdict. Calling the EGM invalid, he said neither he nor any other board member (the others being his wife and brother) would attend the meeting.