Alleged Stock Market Fraud: Court Orders FIR Against Madhabi Buch, 5 Others; SEBI To Challenge Order

Mumbai: A special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Mumbai has directed an FIR to be registered against former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five other officials over alleged stock market fraud and regulatory violations, PTI reported.

Special Judge Shashikant Eknathrao Bangar issued an order on Saturday stating that there was prima facie evidence of regulatory lapses and collusion, warranting a fair and impartial probe.

The court will monitor the investigation and has asked for a status report within 30 days.

However, SEBI announced that it will challenge the order passed by the ACB court.

In a statement released on Sunday, the stock market regulatory body stated said that the complainant is a “frivolous and habitual litigant” and it would take appropriate legal steps to challenge the order.

“The applicant is known to be a frivolous and habitual litigant, with previous applications being dismissed by the Court, with imposition of costs in some cases. SEBI would be initiating appropriate legal steps to challenge this order and remains committed to ensuring due regulatory compliance in all matters,” SEBI said.

The complaint was filed by Sapan Shrivastava, a Dombivli resident who claimed to be a journalist, seeking direction to the police to register an FIR as per section 156(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and probe his allegations.

Besides Madhabi, the ACB court ordered FIR to be registered against whole time members Ashwani Bhatia, Ananth Narayan, Kamlesh Chandra Varshney, BSE CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy and former chairman and public interest director Pramod Agarwal.