Court orders FIR against former SEBI chief Madhabi Buch

A special court in Mumbai has directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to register a first information report (FIR) against former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five other officials in connection with 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 passed on Saturday.

The court order also noted that the allegations disclose a cognisable offence, necessitating an investigation.

The inaction by law enforcement (agencies) and the SEBI necessitates judicial intervention under the provisions of the CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code), it added.

Apart from Buch, the other officials against whom the court has ordered registration of the FIR are BSE's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sundararaman Ramamurthy, its then chairman and public interest director Pramod Agarwal and Sebi's three whole time members Ashwani Bhatia, Ananth Narayan G and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney.

The court said it will monitor the probe, and sought a status report (of the case) within 30 days.

The Sebi said it 'would be initiating appropriate legal steps to challenge this order and remains committed to ensuring due regulatory compliance in all matters'.

The complainant, Sapan Shrivastava (47), who is a media reporter, had sought an investigation into the alleged offences committed by the proposed accused, involving largescale financial fraud, regulatory violations and corruption.

The allegations pertain to the fraudulent listing of a company on the stock exchange with the active connivance of regulatory authorities, particularly the Sebi, without compliance under the SEBI Act, 1992 and rules and regulations thereunder.

The complainant claimed that the Sebi officials failed in their statutory duty, facilitated market manipulation, and enabled corporate fraud by allowing the listing of a company that did not meet the prescribed norms.

Despite approaching the police station and regulatory bodies concerned on multiple occasions, no action has been taken by them, the complainant said.

The court, after considering the material on record, directed the ACB Worli, Mumbai Region, to register an FIR under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act, SEBI Act, and other applicable laws.

Reacting to the court order, the Sebi in a statement said, "A Miscellaneous Application was filed before the ACB Court, Mumbai against the former chairperson of SEBI, three current Whole Time Members of SEBI and two officials of the BSE."

The application sought directions for the police to register an FIR and investigate into the alleged irregularities in granting listing permission to a company on the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1994, without complying with the provisions of the SEBI Act, 1992, SEBI (ICDR) Regulations, 2018, and the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, the statement said.

'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,' it said.

'The applicant is known to be a frivolous and habitual litigant, with previous applications being dismissed by the court, with imposition of costs in some cases,' the statement said.

The SEBI said it would be initiating appropriate legal steps to challenge this order and remains committed to ensuring due regulatory compliance in all matters.

India's first woman Sebi chief Buch, who faced conflict of interest allegations by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg and also political heat thereafter, completed her three-year tenure on Friday.

Although, Buch in her tenure made significant strides in areas like faster settlements in equities, enhanced FPI disclosures and increasing mutual fund penetration through Rs 250 SIP, the last year of her tenure saw heightened controversy, when she battled a series of allegations by Hindenburg and the Congress party, while simultaneously dealing with in-house employee protests against "toxic work culture".

In August last year, Buch faced pressure to resign after the Hindenburg Research accused her of having conflict of interest that prevented a thorough examination of manipulation and fraud claims at the Adani Group.

Hindenburg accused Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch of investing in offshore entities that were allegedly part of a fund structure in which Vinod Adani -- the elder brother of Adani group founder chairman Gautam Adani -- also had investments.

Buchs have denied the allegation, saying the investments were made before she joined the regulator and she had complied with all disclosure requirements.
Hindenburg recently announced shutting down its business.