Regulatory violations: Ex-Sebi chief Buch, 5 others move HC against order directing FIR
Mumbai (PTI): Former Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, BSE MD Sundararaman Ramamurthy and four other officials on Monday moved the Bombay High Court, seeking to quash a special court order directing FIR against them for alleged stock market fraud and regulatory violations.
The pleas were mentioned before a single bench of Justice S G Dige for urgent hearing.
The bench said it would hear the pleas on Tuesday and added that until then, the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which was directed to probe the case, shall not act upon the special court order.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for Buch and three current whole time SEBI directors - Ashwani Bhatia, Ananth Narayan G and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney.
Senior counsel Amit Desai appeared for the Bombay Stock Exchange's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sundararaman Ramamurthy and its former chairman and public interest director Pramod Agarwal.
The pleas sought quashing of the special court order, terming it as illegal and arbitrary.
A special court on March 1 directed the ACB to register an FIR against Buch and the others for alleged stock market fraud and regulatory violations.
There is prima facie evidence of regulatory lapses and collusion, requiring a fair and impartial probe, the special ACB court judge, Shashikant Eknathrao Bangar, said in the order.
The ACB court said it will monitor the probe and sought a status report within 30 days.
The order was passed on a complaint filed by Sapan Shrivastava, a media reporter, seeking investigation into the alleged offences committed by the accused, involving largescale financial fraud, regulatory violations and corruption.
The allegations pertain to the fraudulent listing of a company on the stock exchange in the year 1994 with the active connivance of regulatory authorities, particularly the Securities and Exchange Board of India, without compliance under the SEBI Act, 1992 and rules and regulations thereunder.
The Sebi in a statement on Sunday said it "would be initiating appropriate legal steps to challenge this order and remains committed to ensuring due regulatory compliance in all matters".
The market regulator said the application, which sought directions to the police to register an FIR and investigate alleged irregularities in granting listing permission to a company on the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1994, was allowed by the court "even though these officials were not holding their respective positions at the relevant point of time".
The Bombay Stock Exchange has in a statement termed the application as "frivolous and vexatious in nature".
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
