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...

SAT Overturns SEBI Orders Against Bombay Dyeing, SCAL In Flat Sale MoU Case In 2–1 Verdict

In a 2–1 split verdict, the Securities Appellate Tribunal in Mumbai has overturned SEBI's orders against Bombay Dyeing and SCAL Services, holding that the regulator failed to establish that the flat sale agreements between the two group companies were sham transactions.The majority ruling was delivered by Technical Members Meera Swarup and Dheeraj Bhatnagar. Presiding Officer Justice P. S. Dinesh Kumar dissented. SEBI's case focused on 11 memoranda of understanding signed between 2012 and 2014...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Calcutta Stock Exchange Penalty Against Dalmia Securities Over Invalid Board

The Calcutta High Court has set aside a penalty order passed by the Calcutta Stock Exchange Ltd (CSE) against Dalmia Securities Pvt Ltd, holding that the decision was taken by an unlawfully constituted governing board. The court, however, upheld the validity of the underlying investigation. Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya partly allowed the writ petition filed by Dalmia Securities and its director. He held that the investigation into alleged violations was legally valid, but the final order...

SAT Upholds SEBI Finding Of Telegram-Linked Pump-And-Dump In Superior Finlease shares

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) at Mumbai has upheld SEBI's finding that a “pump and dump” scheme was carried out in the shares of Superior Finlease Limited through Telegram channels in September 2021. While doing so, a coram of Presiding officer P.S. Dinesh Kumar and Technical Members Meera Swarup and Dr. Dheeraj Bhatnagar confirmed disgorgement of unlawful gains and market debarment against Rajneesh Kumar, a director of the company, and his connected entities. It also upheld monetary...

Minimum Penalty Under SEBI Act Can Be Reduced In Appropriate Cases: SAT Majority

The Securities Appellate Tribunal at Mumbai has, by a 2:1 majority, held that penalties imposed under the SEBI Act can be reduced below the statutory minimum in appropriate cases after considering mitigating factors.Setting out its reasoning upfront, the majority said that the scheme of the Act itself allows such flexibility. “In our considered opinion, the provisions of section 15J come to the rescue in appropriate cases and, in our interpretation, have the power to reduce the penalty below...

What Is MF-Lite? SEBI Introduces New Mutual Fund Category Under 2026 Regulations

In a sweeping overhaul of the mutual fund regulatory regime, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has notified the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 2026, which introduces Mutual Fund-Lite (MF-Lite) as a separate category of mutual funds. Notified on 14 January, the regulations have repealed the nearly three-decade-old SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 and are scheduled to come into force with effect from 1 April 2026. Under the new regime,...

SAT Mumbai: Termination of SPA in Financial Notes is 'No Disclosure' Under SEBI Regulations

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) held that termination of a Share Purchase Agreement, when camouflaged in the notes appended to financial results and not disclosed in the main minutes of the board meeting, amounts to no disclosure at all under the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.Tanzania Bottling Company (TBC) has successfully challenged SEBI's dismissal of its complaint against Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), alleging that a 'camouflaged' disclosure regarding a terminated deal led to a...