SAT grants interim relief to Anand Subramanian in NSE Himalayan Yogi case

Directs Subramanian to deposit Rs 60 lakh within four weeks

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has granted an interim relief to Anand Subramanian, former group operating officer (GOO) National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the Himalyan Yogi case.

The tribunal has directed Subramanian to deposit Rs 60 lakh within four weeks.

“If such an amount is deposited, the balance amount shall not be recovered during the pendency of the appeal,” SAT members Tarun Agarwala, MT Joshi and Meera Swarup said in an order.

On February 11, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had imposed a penalty of Rs 2 crore on Subramanian for alleged governance lapses at NSE. The market regulator has also restrained Subramanian from associating with  any market infrastructure  institution or  any  Sebi-registered intermediary for three years.

The Sebi order has alleged that Subramanian made an incorrect and misleading statement before Sebi regarding his appointment and selection at NSE. Further, it has alleged that Subramanian exploited former MD & CEO of NSE Chitra Ramakrishna by creating another identity in the form of Rigyajursama (purporated Himalayan yogi) to guide her to perform her duties according to his wish.

“Prima facie this finding appears to be based on conjectures and beyond the show cause notice. Further, prime facie the imposition of penalty for making misleading statements about his appointment and being a key management personnel also appears to be excessive and arbitrary,” SAT said in an order.

SAT will next hear the matter on June 30. Earlier, the tribunal had provided similar relaxations to Ramakrishna and her predecessor Ravi Narain, also aggrieved by Sebi’s February 11 order.