SCRA prevails over Contract Act and Sale of Goods Act: SC [Read Judgment]

Apex Court Bench comprising of Justices Anil R. Dave and R. Banumathi has held that the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (SCRA) is a special law to regulate the sale and purchase of shares and securities and hence it prevails over the provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and Sale of Goods Act, 1930.This observation was made by the Supreme Court in Securities and Exchange Board of India vs. M/s. Opee Stock-Link Ltd. & Anr while disposing of appeals filed by SEBI against the...

Pay 300 Cr soon or go back to jail: SC to Subrato Roy

Sahara group chief Subrata Roy secured a huge relief from the Supreme Court today when it extended till August 3 the parole granted to him on humantarian grounds following the death of his mother. But there was a rider.There was a strict condition that he will have to deposit the balance of Rs 300 crore, out of the Rs 500 crore promised by him."But you remember you have to deposit balance Rs 300 crore. Either you pay or go back to jail," a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said while...

SC notice to CBI, SEBI on plea seeking seizure of P Notes

Supreme Court today issued notices to CBI, SEBI, RBI and the Finance Ministry for a direction to seize entire investments and gains made through participatory notes in India.The PIL was filed by advocate M.L. Sharma, who had already filed a PIL on Panama black money revelations, has filed this fresh application. On May 9, the SC had issued notice to the Centre and the CBI for an investigation against the Indians’ offshore account holders, and others. The notice was issued by a bench headed by...

Interplay between 15A and 15J of the SEBI Act: matter referred to Larger SC Bench [Read Judgment]

Division Bench of Supreme Court has referred a matter involving Interplay between the amended 15A and 15J of the SEBI Act before a larger bench. Bench comprising of Justices Kurian Joseph and R.F. Nariman in Siddharth Chaturvedi vs. SEBI said that it does not subscribe to the views in SEBI vs. Roofit Industries Limited ( 2015 (12) SCALE 642.)In Roofit Industries Ltd case, another Division Bench of the Apex Court had held that the quantum of penalty under Section 15A can have due regard only to...

#Budget2016; SARFAESI Act is to be amended to strengthen Asset Reconstruction Companies; Finance Minister

While presenting the General Budget 2016-17 in Lok Sabha today, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that in the financial sector, a comprehensive Code on Resolution of Financial Firms will be enacted. Together with the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law, this will fill a major systemic vacuum. This is a major reform measure. Announcing more financial sector reforms, he said new derivative products will be developed by SEBI in the commodity derivatives market.  Statutory basis will be...

For Money Launders Jail is the Rule and Bail is an exception; Supreme Court [Read Judgment]

Supreme Court denies bail to Rose Valley Group CMD Gautam Kundu.By making a pragmatic approach to the provision of Section 45(1) of the P.M.L. Act and on consideration of the antecedents of the petitioner in collection of money from open market for issuing secured debentures in violation of the guidelines of SEBI and on further consideration  of the manner of keeping accounts of Rose Valley the Supreme Court rejected the Bail application, on 16th December, 2015.This appeal, by special leave, is...

RBI, SEBI, Gujarat and Jharkhand question SC interim order not making Aadhaar mandatory

Protests against the interim order not to make aadhaar cards mandatory for availing benefits of various government sponsored welfare schemes continued with the RBI and SEBI, along with the governments of Gujarat and Jharkhand today seeking clarifications and modifications from the Supreme Court on it.A bench of Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde and C Nagappan agreed to  hear the pleas on October 6. But it raised the question whether it can entertain such interim applications after transferring...

SAT upholds SEBI order against PACL Ltd

The  Securities Appellate Tribunal on Wednesday upheld a August 22, 2014, order of the Securities and Exchange Board of India directing PACL Ltd, erstwhile Pearl Agrotech Corporation, and its promoters to refund over Rs 44,376 crore that it collected from 5.85 crore investors through collective investment schemes (CIS).In 1997, the SEBI alleged that the company was running a CIS without any approval or permission. Subsequently, the case was registered against PACL, promoters and directors...

Bank of Rajasthan & ICICI Bank merger: PIL filed in SC urging SEBI to be made accountable; says unfair gains made by promoters of Bank of Rajasthan were not quantified

A Supreme Court Bench comprising of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice A.K. Misra today ordered tagging of a PIL with a pending case seeking a CBI investigation into SEBI’s decision to allow promoters of Bank of Rajasthan to sell their shares after its amalgamation with the ICICI bank in 2010.The plea, filed through Advocate Prashant Bhushan was admitted after Bhushan told the Court that a similar issue was pending adjudication in the Supreme Court.The Petition, filed by Mr. Arun Kumar Agrawal...

SEBI bars DLF from entering Securities Market

Realty major DLF and six senior executives are barred from entering the securities market and from buying or selling securities for three years after finding that the company didn’t adequately disclose information to investors before its 2007 initial public offering.In a 43-page order published on Monday, SEBI said DLF, its billionaire founder and chairman Kushal Pal Singh and five other company executives would be barred from "buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities".The ban, a blow...

No Respite for Sahara Honcho: Apex Court Rejects Subrato Roy's Bail Plea

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to the Chief of Sahara Group, Shri Subroto Roy Sahara, and held that it will facilitate negotiations for Sahara to sell properties in India and abroad. Mr. Roy had prayed for release for a period of 40 days in order to finalize the sale of three overseas hotels owned by the Sahara Group. The Court nonetheless, allowed Mr. Roy to negotiate his business deals from a guest house in Delhi between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the days it was required,...

SC Urges SEBI to place Safeguards Verifying Sahara Sale Transactions; Income Tax Department Approaches SC demanding 4,800-crore from Sahara

The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice Anil Dave and Justice A.K. Sikri today said that the court needs to monitor the sale transactions being undertaken by Sahara to prevent any mischief. The judges added that since they have no expertise in the field, experts should be employed by SEBI in order to scrutinize all dealings. SEBI was also urged to put safeguards into place to maintain transparency in the sale proceeds.Sahara seems to be in trouble again, with the...