In a relief to NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Securities Appeals Court (SAT) not to insist on depositing half the amount of the fines as a precondition for hearing their appeals. against the orders of the market regulator Sebi. .
NDTV’s promoters have challenged the SAT order ordering them to deposit 50 percent of the alleged illegal proceeds that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) determined they had earned.
A bank headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said the Roys’ appeals will be heard by the SAT without insisting on the deposit.
“The appeals will be heard on March 4. No amount will be coercively recovered in the absence of a deposit for the appeal hearing. The order will not be treated as a precedent, ”said the court, which was also composed of judges AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.
In the process carried out via videoconference, Attorney General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the deposit of money is a precondition for the granting of stay at Sebi’s address.
“I’m not saying it’s pre-deposit (condition). They will enclose my house, ”said lead defender Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared on behalf of the promoters.
“No amount will be coercively charged from the appellant for hearing the case. This order will not be a precedent, “said the bank.
Previously, the bank had asked NDTV’s promoters to give a statement on the shares indicating the current market value that they would like to deposit as collateral with market regulator Sebi by order of SAT.
The Roys had told the supreme court that they were willing to commit that their shares in NDTV would not be transferred.
The court had noted from Rohatgi’s submission that the promoters were willing to provide a statement of shares and their current market value.
Rohatgi had said that the promoters are willing to commit not to transfer the shares they own in NDTV.
“We don’t have any other money. We are a news channel with difficulties. We are very affected, ”said the lead attorney.
“You have to give some security. What is the value of the stock? “The bank had asked.
The value of each share is Rs 37 and we have 50 lakh of shares, replied the lawyer and promised to submit the affidavit.
The SAT had ordered the NDTV promoters to deposit 50 percent of the disbursed amount with Sebi, which imposed a penalty on them for alleged violation of various securities regulations by hiding information from shareholders about certain loan contracts.
While listening to her appeal against Sebi, SAT had further said that if NDTV deposited the amount, the balance would not be recovered during the processing of the appeal before her.
In two separate orders approved on January 4, the court had noted that the appeals filed by the Roy couple needed consideration and ordered that the appeals be listed before the court for final disposition on February 10, 2021.
This came after the couple’s appeals against a Sebi order passed in November last year, in which the markets regulator had banned them from the stock market for two years and also ordered them to return illegal profits from Rs 16.97 crore for indulging in insider trading. more than 12 years ago.
However, the company denied the charges. Sebi had noted that the duo together made a profit by indulging in insider trading on the shares of New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) while in possession of UPSI in connection with the proposed reorganization of the company.
Prannoy Roy was the president and full-time director and Radhika Roy was the general director during the period under investigation and they were part of the chain of decision-making that led to the crystallization of the UPSI.
Discussions regarding the reorganization of the company began on September 7, 2007 and the disclosure was made on April 16, 2008.
Therefore, September 7, 2007 to April 16, 2008 was an Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) period.
The couple sold shares on April 17, 2008, when the trading window for them closed and made a profit of Rs 16.97 crore, according to Sebi’s order.
In doing so, they violated the Insider Trading Ban (PIT) rules and also violated NDTV’s code of conduct for the prevention of insider trading, which prohibited them from trading for at least 24 hours after the information will be disclosed to the stock exchanges. he added.
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