'Britannia violated Sebi listing norms on Wadia arrest'

Proxy advisory and corporate governance firm InGovern on Tuesday said that Britannia Industries Ltd violated market regulator Sebi's listing regulations by not reporting the recent arrest in Japan of its promoter Ness Wadia.

Ness Wadia, son of industrialist Nusli Wadia, was handed a two-year prison sentence for drugs possession while on a skiing holiday in Japan. The sentence was suspended for five years.

"Britannia is in violation of Sebi's listing obligations and disclosure requirements (LODR). The arrest of the promoter should have been disclosed by the company to the exchanges, which was not done," InGovern founder Shriram Subramanian told IANS in an interview.

In response to a regulatory query on the matter earlier, Ness Wadia had said that the "judgment referred to is clear. It is a suspended sentence".

"Hence, I am suitably advised that it will not impact nor impair me in the discharge of my responsibilities and I will be able to play the role that I have done hitherto, in both the company and the group as also my other activities," Ness Wadia said.

--IANS

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