Former SEBI chairman Madhabi Puri Buch gets relief from Bombay High Court, FIR stayed
The Bombay High Court has stayed the order of a special court, which directed to register an FIR against former SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) chief Madhabi Puri Buch, some members of the board and top officials of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Buch and other officials had approached the Bombay High Court seeking dismissal of the case. Justice Shivkumar Dige accepted the matter for immediate hearing and today stayed the proceedings in favor of Buch and other officials.
What was the whole matter?
A special court had ordered the registration of a case against former SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five other officials on charges of fraud and regulatory violations in the stock market. The court had also said that it would monitor the investigation and sought a status report of the case within 30 days. However, SEBI has decided to challenge this order. SEBI says that the court did not give the board a chance to present its side.
While hearing the petition of Sapan Srivastava, a journalist, special court judge Shashikant Eknathrao Bangar said, “There is primary evidence of regulatory negligence and collusion in this case, which requires an impartial investigation.” Let us tell you, petitioner Sapan Srivastava had demanded an investigation in this matter. The court also said that the allegations reveal a cognizable offense, for which investigation is necessary. Also, due to the inaction of law enforcement agencies and SEBI, “judicial intervention has become necessary.” What was SEBI’s stand? SEBI had said on this decision that it would “take appropriate legal steps to challenge this order.” SEBI also argued that the named officers were not in their positions at the relevant time. SEBI said, “The court approved the petition without issuing any notice to SEBI or giving it an opportunity to put the facts on record.” SEBI also said that the petitioner is a “habitual litigant” whose previous petitions were rejected by the court and fines were also imposed in some cases.
Tenure of Madhabi Puri Buch
Madhabi Puri Buch, who was the first woman chief of SEBI, ended her three-year term on March 1. During her tenure, significant progress was made in areas such as faster resolution in the stock market, increase in FPI (foreign portfolio investor) and increasing mutual fund penetration. However, the last year of her tenure also saw controversies.
Against which officials FIR ordered?
Apart from Madhabi Puri Buch, the officials against whom FIR was ordered include BSE Managing Director and CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy, then Chairman and Public Interest Director Pramod Agarwal and SEBI Whole-Time Members Ashwani Bhatia, Anant Narayan G and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney.
