New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday junked a plea by Sebi challenging an order passed by Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), setting aside the penalty imposed by the market regulator on RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, the Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone and the Mumbai SEZ.
The matter is regarding the alleged manipulative trading in shares of the erstwhile Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) in November 2007.
A bench comprising justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said it was not inclined to interfere with the order passed by SAT. The bench said the litigation has been going on for several years and added, "This is a long time…no question of law is involved”. However, Reliance Industries’ cross-appeal against the SAT order, which upheld SEBI’s decision including the penalty imposed on the company, will come up for hearing on December 2.
During the hearing today, the apex court said there is no question of law involved in this appeal warranting its interference. “You can't chase a person like this for years," said the bench, dismissing the plea by Sebi.
The market regulator had moved the top court against the December 4, 2023, order of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).
In January 2021, Sebi imposed a Rs 25 crore fine on Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Rs 15 crore on Ambani, Rs 20 crore on Navi Mumbai SEZ Pvt Ltd, and Rs 10 crore on Mumbai SEZ Ltd in the RPL case.
The tribunal passed the order after all the entities appealed before it against the order passed by the Sebi in January 2021. Navi Mumbai SEZ and Mumbai SEZ are promoted by Anand Jain, who once served in the Reliance Group. The tribunal had quashed Sebi's order passed in 2021 against Ambani, Navi Mumbai SEZ and Mumbai SEZ. The case pertains to the sale and purchase of RPL shares in the cash and futures segments in November 2007.
