Anand Rathi moves HC against SEBI action

Anand Rathi moves HC against SEBI action
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU

MUMBAI, MAR 14: Former Bombay Stock Exchange president Anand Rathi has moved the Bumbai High Court challenging the SEBI decision to remove him from the governing board of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and suspend the trading business of his four broking firms. The hearing is expected to come up on Monday.

Rathi and six other directors were stripped off their powers as directors on the BSE board by the SEBI two days ago. The market regulator has been more tough in the case of Anand Rathi, who resigned as the president last week following allegations that he leaked out price-sensitive information to others. Rathi and his concerns -- Anand Rathi Securities Pvt Ltd, Navratan Capital and Securities Pvt Ltd, Rathi Global Finance Ltd and Rathi Capital and Securities Pvt Ltd -- were directed not to undertake any fresh business as a broker as well, until fresh Sebi orders in this regard.

Rathi, who was forced to resign as the president in the wake of the controversy over the taped conversations where he asked for information on specific stocks from the exchange's surveillance department, had continued as a director. But with Monday's order, Sebi had put paid to his plans of continuing on the board as well.

Meanwhile, SEBI is also expected to give these parties, including Rathi, hearings on March 21 and 22, where Sebi chairman DR Mehta will personally hear them in a quasi-judicial role. The allegations also are that Rathi and his governing board colleagues collected the information from the surveillance wing and then used it to hammer the market further and make gains.

On Tuesday, High Coourt division bench of Justice A P Shah and Justice S J Vazifdar disposed of another public interest litigation (PIL) after they were told by Advocate General Goolam Vahanvati, appearing in private capacity as SEBI's counsel, that SEBI is very much alive to the situation which is being monitored and it has acted with utmost urgency in the matter. He assured that all necessary steps will be taken as required.