SEBI Holds Unison Metals Shares Were Manipulated Via Telegram Tips, Bars 15 Entities From Market

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently passed a final order holding that the shares of Unison Metals Limited were manipulated through stock recommendation tips circulated on Telegram channels. The regulator barred 15 noticees from accessing the securities market for periods ranging from one to three years, ordered disgorgement of unlawful gains and imposed monetary penalties, while dropping proceedings against two noticees.Whole Time Member Amarjeet Singh held that the...

SAT Upholds SEBI Findings On Manipulation Of Stock Tips Aired Through CNBC Show 'Pandya Ka Funda'

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has recently upheld the findings of the Securities and Exchange Board of India in a case involving the alleged manipulation of stock recommendations disseminated through the CNBC television show “Pandya Ka Funda”. The matter was heard by a coram comprising Presiding Officer Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar and Technical Members Meera Swarup and Dr. Dheeraj Bhatnagar. The appeal arose from a SEBI order passed against Alpesh Vasanji Furiya and his connected...

Budget Proposes Hike In Securities Transaction Tax On Futures And Options

The Union Budget 2026–27 on Sunday proposed an increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures and options trades.Presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced higher STT rates for derivative transactions. “I propose to raise the STT on Futures to 0.05 per cent from the present 0.02 per cent,” she said. The Finance Minister also proposed a hike in STT on options. “STT on options premium and exercise of options are both proposed to be raised to 0.15 per cent from...

Budget 2026–27 Proposes Allowing Individuals Resident Outside India To Invest In Listed Shares Through PIS

The Union Budget 2026–27 on Sunday proposed allowing individuals resident outside India to invest in equity instruments of listed Indian companies through the Portfolio Investment Scheme, while also raising the permissible holding limits.Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Individual persons resident outside India will be permitted to invest in equity instruments of listed Indian companies through the Portfolio Investment Scheme.” She announced an increase in...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Award Against Kotak Securities Over Unauthorised Share Sale

The Karnataka High Court has dismissed an appeal by Kotak Securities Limited and declined to interfere with an arbitral award holding the broker liable for unauthorised sale of shares and wrongful charging of interest. A bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha upheld the findings of the arbitral tribunal as well as the commercial court. The court found no merit in Kotak's attempt to reopen the dispute by advancing a new case at the appellate stage. “We do not consider it...

SEBI Censures Investment Adviser, Says Firm Cannot Escape Liability For Employee Misconduct

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently censured investment advisory firm Winway Research for multiple regulatory violations, holding that the firm failed to act as a fiduciary and could not escape responsibility for misconduct by its own employee. The order was passed by SEBI Whole Time Member Amarjeet Singh.In the order, the regulator made it clear that an adviser cannot distance itself from wrongdoing that occurs during the course of employment. “An employee of the...

SEBI Fines Research Guru Proprietor, Nephew ₹12 Lakh For Violating Investment Adviser Regulations

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently imposed a penalty of Rs 12 lakh on Research Guru proprietor Veena Sharma and her nephew Abhishek Sharma after finding multiple violations of the SEBI Act and investment adviser regulations. Of the total penalty, Rs 7 lakh was imposed on Veena Sharma, the proprietor of the SEBI-registered investment adviser Research Guru, while Rs 5 lakh was imposed on Abhishek Sharma. The penalties were imposed by SEBI adjudicating officer Sudeep...

Delhi High Court Upholds Forensic Audit Into CRB Mutual Fund Winding Up

The Delhi High Court has upheld directions for a forensic audit into the winding up of the Arihant Mangal Growth Scheme of CRB Mutual Fund. It has also allowed the Securities and Exchange Board of India to take steps to recover money paid to CRB group entities if violations are found. A Division Bench of Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar dismissed appeals filed by former members of a court-appointed special committee, former CRB Capital Markets director C.R....

SAT Upholds SEBI Interim Order Against Avadhut Sathe Academy, Cuts Deposit To ₹100 Crore

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) at Mumbai on Thursday upheld an ex-parte interim order passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India against Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy Private Limited. At the same time, it partly modified the direction, requiring the appellants to secure Rs 546.17 crore. The amount was reduced to Rs 100 crore. The appeal was heard by Presiding Officer Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar and Technical Member Meera Swarup. The tribunal said SEBI had made out a prima...

SAT Refuses Interim Relief To Embassy Developments Against Surveillance Inclusion Despite Insolvency Stay

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has recently refused to grant interim relief to Embassy Developments Limited against the inclusion of its scrip under the Additional Surveillance Measures framework by the stock exchanges, holding that a stay of insolvency proceedings does not restore a company to the position it occupied before admission of an insolvency petition.Additional Surveillance Measures are trading safeguards imposed by stock exchanges to protect investors from the volatility of...

SEBI Bars Broking Dealer, 12 Entities From Accessing Markets For Front-Running 'Big Client' Trades

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently barred a brokerage dealer, Ashish S. Parekh, and 12 other entities accessing the securities market for five years. It held that they front-ran the trades of a “big client” by misusing non-public information about his impending orders. In a final order passed by a whole-time member, Kamlesh C. Varshney, SEBI held that the noticees had engaged in fraudulent and unfair trade practices by exploiting advance knowledge of large...

SEBI Notifies 2026 Amendment Regulations Defining 'Retail Individual Investors'

On 20 January, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) notified the SEBI Issue and Listing of Non-Convertible Securities (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, to formally define “retail individual investors” and allow issuers to offer incentives to such investors in debt issuances. The amendment introduces a new definition into the 2021 regulations, classifying a retail individual investor as an individual who applies or bids for debt securities for a value of not more than Rs. 2 lakh. SEBI...