The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Friday set aside an order by the markets regulator against Reliance Industries Holdings issued in April 2021.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had imposed a total penalty of Rs 25 crore on the company, Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani, Tina Ambani, and seven others for alleged violation of takeover regulations.
Quashing the order, the tribunal has ordered Sebi to refund the penalty of Rs 25 crore within four weeks.
“We find that appellants have not violated Regulation 11 (1) of SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011. The Imposition of penalty upon the appellant is without any authority of law. Consequently, in view of this Sebi order cannot be sustained therefore quashed and appeal allowed,” said Justice Tarun Agarwala.
The matter relates to alleged irregularities concerning the issue of 12 crore equity shares in January 2000 by Reliance Industries to 38 entities.
Sebi, in its order, had alleged that the acquisition of 6.83 per cent shares by RIL promoters was in excess to the ceiling of 5 per cent prescribed under the Takeover Regulations. It had noted that the parties had not made any public announcement for acquiring shares.
First Published: Jul 28 2023 | 2:11 PM IST