Sat Rejects Bpl Plea For Interim Stay

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Monday rejected an appeal by BPL Industries for an interim stay on the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) order against the company and its directors.

In a 17-page interim order, the one-member tribunal of C Achutan rejected the plea and said the final order on the case would be issued on August 6, 2001.

Six appeals were filed against the Sebi order banning BPL from accessing the capital market for four years and ordering prosecution against BPL through its directors/officers including Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Ajit Nambiar, R Murali, TPG Nambiar and TC Chauhan.

The interim order notes that the BPL counsel sought interim stay against only one part of the Securities and Exchange Board of India order calling for prosecution against the directors of the company, not against the ban on the company accessing the capital market.

However, the Sebi counsel assured the tribunal that the prosecution would be initiated against the promoters only after the appeal was disposed off by the tribunal.

On April 19, 2001, the Securities and Exchange Board of India had taken action against BPL and its director on manipulation of BPL share prices in 1998.