Sayaji Hotels matter: Sebi fines 32 entities Rs 3.15 cr

Sebi has imposed a total penalty of Rs 3.15 crore on 32 entities, including several present and former promoters of Sayaji Hotels, for violating capital market norms, including those pertaining to disclosure requirements.

According to a Sebi order dated March 28, the promoter group (comprising 32 entities) had twice failed to make a public announcement as required under the SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations with regard to acquisition of shares of Sayaji Hotels.

It had not made a public announcement for the acquisition of 0.40 per cent of the share capital of Sayaji Hotels during AprilJune 2005 and another 10.52 per cent during JanuaryMarch 2006.

As per the order, the promoter group's shareholding had decreased from 57.77 per cent to 42.43 per cent during JulySeptember 2005.

It had failed to make relevant disclosures to the stock exchange as required under SAST Regulations during the period JulySeptember 2005 and JanuaryMarch 2006 when it had sold and acquired shares, respectively.

The order also noted that Suchitra Dhanani, one of the promoters, had also failed to disclose the change in her shareholding (from 7.63 per cent to 2.54 per cent) to the company during quarter ended September 2005 and violated PIT (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations.

"Non-compliance with disclosure requirements by a promoter group of the listed company undermines the regulatory objectives and jeopardises the achievement of the underlying policy goals," Sebi said in its order.

Besides Suchitra, other promoters in the list of 32 include: Anisha Dhanani, Bipasha Dhanani, Ahilya Hotels, Kayum Dhanani, Sadika Md I Memon, Excellent Estate Developers, Bharat Equity Services, Liberty Construction and Leasing, Habibunisha Dhanani, Gulshan I Memon, Shamim Dhanani, Shaji Nair and Subhash Pandit.

While the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on the 32 promoters for failing to make public announcement with regard to acquisition of shares, it has levied a fine of Rs 10 lakh on them for disclosure lapses.

Besides, the regulator has slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Suchitra for not complying with disclosure norms as required under PIT Regulations.