SAT disposes of appeal in RIL insider trading case

Second appeal to be heard on January 6

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) disposed of an appeal by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) seeking access to documents pertaining to insider trading charges levelled against it by the stock market regulator.

The tribunal disposed of the appeal after the market watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, stated it had already provided documents to RIL and  would provide any additional ones if required by December 23.

A separate appeal, against a Sebi decision to deny its application under the consent mechanism will be heard on January 6. Sebi has been investigating RIL for alleged insider trading involving its erstwhile subsidiary, Reliance Petroleum. It has been alleged RIL made unlawful gains of Rs 500 crore in 2007 by trading in the shares of Reliance Petroleum around the time of the merger between the two.

A CASE OF TWO APPEALS

• SAT disposed of one out of the two appeals filed by RIL against Sebi
• The appeal pertained to making documents related to the matter being made available to RIL
• Sebi has said that any additional documents would be provided by 23rd December
• A second appeal against its refusal to settle insider trading charges through consent, remains
• It will now be heard on January 6

The regulator began investigating the matter in 2008 and issued a showcause notice in 2010. Reliance had sought to deal with the matter through the consent route, which allows for settlement of alleged violations through payment of an amount decided on the basis of the nature of the charges. The regulator turned down the application.

Sebi also changed the consent mechanism so that certain offences such as insider trading are not generally dealt with through the route, in May 2012. Reliance Industries moved the tribunal in appeal following  these decisions by Sebi.  The tribunal has previously expressed concern over the delay in closure of the case, saying both parties were to blame.  

The matter has been adjourned multiple times. The case has previously been held up on various counts, including disputes related to making documents available to RIL and once after the editor of an Urdu daily sought to intervene in the matter, citing public interest.

M Furquan, the editor of Sach Bilkul Sach, sought to intervene  in August. The tribunal later turned down the application.

Sebi has also investigated other instances of insider trading involving RIL. It had imposed a penalty of Rs.11 crore in a separate case of insider trading involving another Reliance company, Reliance Petroinvestments. The Reliance subsidiary was involved in the purchase of shares in Indian Petrochemicals before its merger with RIL, and the announcement of an interim dividend.

Reliance Industries was up 4.58 per cent compared to a 1.79 per cent rise in the Sensex on Friday. The stock closed at Rs.893.65, according to exchange data.