SC rejects Bellary Steels' plea against Sebi

The Supreme Court has dismissed Bellary Steels and Alloys Ltd's (BSAL) plea challenging market regulator Sebi's order that debarred it from the securities market for five years.

A bench headed by Justice S H Kapadia refused to quash the Securities Appellate Tribunal's (SAT) judgment that upheld Sebi's order restraining the company from trading in securities for allegedly issuing counterfeit share certificates in contravention of the Sebi Regulations, 2003.

The tribunal, while upholding the market watchdog's order, had also rejected the company's proposal to impose monetary penalty on it and its director in lieu of the debarment for the balance period (part of the duration of the ban is over).

BSAL said that SAT and Sebi overlooked the crucial aspect that it was registered with the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) and was made to suffer serious financial hardships due to the impugned order.