HC extends stay on order directing FIR against ex-Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch, five others
Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Tuesday extended the interim stay on a special court's order directing FIR against ex-Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five other officials for alleged stock market fraud and regulatory violations.
The HC last month granted the interim stay on the special court's order, noting it was passed mechanically and no specific role was attributed to the accused.
On Tuesday, Justice Shivkumar Dige noted that the original complainant in the case has filed an affidavit and granted time to Buch and others to go through the same.
"The interim relief granted earlier shall continue until further orders," Justice Dige said, posting the matter for further hearing on May 7.
Last month, Buch, three current whole-time directors of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Ashwani Bhatia, Ananth Narayan G and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney, Bombay Stock Exchange's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sundararaman Ramamurthy and BSE's former chairman and public interest director Pramod Agarwal moved the HC against the special court order.
The pleas sought quashing of the order passed by the special court which directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to register an FIR against them pertaining to certain allegations of fraud committed in 1994 while listing a company on the BSE.
The petitions claimed the special court order was "manifestly erroneous, patently illegal and passed without jurisdiction".
The order by the special court was passed on a complaint filed by Sapan Shrivastava, a media reporter, seeking investigation into the alleged offences committed by the accused, involving large scale financial fraud, regulatory violations and corruption.
Special ACB court judge S E Bangar, in his March 1 order, noted there was prima facie evidence of regulatory lapses and collusion, requiring a fair and impartial probe.
The ACB court also said it will monitor the probe, and sought a status report within 30 days.
The allegations in the complaint pertained to "fraudulent listing of a company on the stock exchange in 1994 with the active connivance of regulatory authorities", particularly the Sebi, without compliance under the SEBI Act, 1992 and rules and regulations thereunder.
The Sebi last month said the application (by Shrivastava) sought directions for the police to register an FIR and investigate into the alleged irregularities in granting listing permission to a company on the BSE in 1994, without complying with provisions of the SEBI Act, 1992, SEBI (ICDR) Regulations, 2018, and the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.
"Even though these officials were not holding their respective positions at the relevant point of time, the court allowed the application without issuing any notice or granting any opportunity to SEBI to place the facts on record," the market regulator said in a statement.
The BSE had said the application sought directions for registration of an FIR and investigations into alleged irregularities in the listing of Cals Refineries Ltd at BSE in 1994.
"The officials named in the application were not in their respective positions at the time of listing and were not connected with the company at all," it said, adding the application is "frivolous and vexatious in nature".
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Modi govt by changing name of MGNREGA exposed its 'hatred' towards Gandhi: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that the union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attempting to change the name and structure of the MGNREGA, has itself exposed its "hatred" towards the poor and towards Mahatma Gandhi.
He also accused the Centre of "altering" the very structure of the scheme, by shifting nearly 40 per cent of the cost onto the state governments, and called Modi "anti federal".
Suggesting that the NDA government at the Centre start a "Ministry of Name Change", with the Prime Minister himself holding that portfolio, the CM warned of a statewide agitation against this name change move.
The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, that seeks to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid strong objections by the opposition to the "removal" of Mahatma Gandhi's name from it.
ALSO READ: Slain Australia beach shooting suspect native of Hyderabad: T'gana police
"The Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is attempting to change the name and structure of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), has itself exposed its hatred towards the poor and towards Mahatma Gandhi," Siddaramaiah said in a statement.
Implemented by the UPA government 20 years ago, the MGNREGA scheme has played a crucial role in eradicating unemployment and poverty in rural areas, he said, adding that "this scheme, which guarantees the right to employment to every individual, has received praise from economists both in India and abroad."
Noting that MGNREGA was a genuine form of employment guarantee, the CM said the proposed new structure under the Modi government strips away that guarantee and places the assurance of work at the whims of political leaders.
"This will further deepen caste discrimination and social inequality," he claimed.
Highlighting that the NDA government has altered the very structure of MGNREGA, a scheme whose entire expenditure was earlier borne by the Central government, by shifting nearly 40 per cent of the cost onto the state governments, Siddaramaiah said this stands as clear evidence of the "anti-federal attitude" that Prime Minister Modi has followed ever since coming to power.
"This move will also increase the migration of poor people in search of work as the proposed form does not guarantee employment in their own location -- forcing families to travel long distances to survive," he said.
Naming this scheme after Mahatma Gandhi, who sowed the dream of Gram Swaraj, was a meaningful decision, the CM said, "While Prime Minister Narendra Modi indulges in praising Gandhi during his foreign tours, within the country he has consistently engaged in attempts to erase Gandhi's legacy from key national programmes. From a parivar that seeks to glorify Gandhi's assassin Godse, what different conduct can one really expect?"
"Narendra Modi is widely known for simply changing the names of landmark schemes launched by the UPA government rather than preserving or strengthening them. It would be more appropriate for this government to start a 'Ministry of Name Change,' with the Prime Minister himself holding that portfolio," he said.
More than 25 flagship programmes launched during earlier governments were merely renamed or repackaged by the present regime, the CM further said, listing out that the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan was rechristened as the Swachh Bharat Mission, while the Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account scheme was rebranded as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, among others.
"These changes reflect a consistent pattern of altering names rather than fundamentally strengthening or expanding the original intent of these welfare initiatives," he added.
Stating that the Congress party and state government strongly condemn this "anti-people" decision of the Narendra Modi government, which has snatched food from the plates of the poor, insulted Bapu, and attempted to strangle state governments financially, Siddaramaiah warned about launching a statewide agitation against this move.
"The responsibility of preserving the MGNREGA scheme in its original form must also be taken up by the lakhs of beneficiaries of the scheme. They must hold the BJP leaders of the state accountable and exert pressure on them to raise their voices against this injustice, rising above party lines," he said.
