Mumbai, February 3: The Bombay High Court has temporarily halted the filing of an FIR against former SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five other officials, including the MD of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Sundararaman Ramamurthy, until March 4.
The order comes after the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) was directed by a special court on March 1 to investigate allegations of stock market fraud and regulatory violations dating back to 1994.
Buch and the other officials challenged the court's decision, seeking to quash the order, arguing it was illegal and arbitrary, as they were not notified or given a chance to respond before the decision was made. The court will hear the case on Tuesday, and in the meantime, the ACB is prohibited from acting on the order.
The ACB’s investigation stems from a complaint filed by media reporter Sapan Shrivastava, alleging fraudulent listing of a company on the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1994, implicating SEBI officials. The special court found prima facie evidence of regulatory lapses and collusion, ordering an impartial probe and status updates within 30 days.
SEBI has stated it will challenge the court’s order, stressing that the officials were not in their positions during the time of the alleged incident. The Bombay Stock Exchange also dismissed the complaint, calling it "frivolous and vexatious."
