The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has directed edtech firm Byju’s to pay employee salaries even if it does not have access to the funds raised from a rights issue.

The Bengaluru bench of the tribunal also warned of an audit by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) if it failed to pay the employees.

The NCLT was hearing a plea by the start-up’s staff. “You are a company that is functioning. Surely you should be having revenues,” the bench reportedly said.

Byju’s was directed to file a response to the plea as the NCLT listed it for hearing in the coming week.

Reports claim that even as the edtech firm paid the April and May salaries, payments for February and March are yet to be made in full.

Byju’s has said that though it intends to pay the salaries, it cannot do so as it does not have access to the funds raised from an rights issue in February. The funds are locked in an escrow account due to the directions of the NCLT.

The development comes just two days after the Karnataka High Court set aside an interim order of the NCLT that restrained the edtech firm from going ahead with its second rights issue.

The Karnataka High Court also sent the matter back to the NCLT for further hearing.

The Bengaluru bench of the NCLT, had in an order dated June 12, also asked Byju’s to submit complete details of its shareholders before and after the allotments of equities on March 2 as per the first tranche of rights issue.

The tribunal said it “hereby restrains the respondents from going ahead with the present rights issue which is in progress” till the disposal of the main petition filed by investors.

“The respondents are further directed to keep the amounts collected so far since opening of the second rights issue in relation to this offer in a separate account which should not be utilised till the disposal of the main petition,” the order added.

A group of four investors — Prosus, General Atlantic, Sofina and Peak XV — had approached the tribunal against the company management and the rights issue.

Last month, the Dutch investment firm Prosus has written off $578 million (about ₹4,800 crore) that it invested in Byju’s.