Sebi slaps Rs 25 lakh fine on MAN Industries; five officials

Capital market watchdog Sebi has imposed a joint penalty of Rs 25 lakh on MAN Industries, its chairman and four officials for alleged violations of norms related to ''Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT)'.
Sebi has held that MAN Industries, its chairman R C Mansukhani, vice chairman and managing director JC Mansukhani, executive directors -- RC Jindal and JL Mansukhani -- as well as company secretary Sujal Sharma had failed to disseminate price sensitive information to the stock exchanges on time.
It was submitted to Sebi that RC Jindal and Sujal Sharma had left the company and that JL Mansukhani had expired.

The entities had allegedly not made disclosures that it had bagged orders worth Rs 1,340 crores from Middle East.
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) held that the entities had "violated the provisions...Of PIT Regulations which mandates prompt disclosure of price sensitive information to the exchanges and disseminations of the same on a continuous and immediate basis".
In an order dated March 28, Sebi has imposed "a penalty of Rs 25 lakh jointly and severally on the noticees namely MAN Industries (India) Ltd, RC Mansukhani, JC Mansukhani, RC Jindal and Sujal Sharma...The said penalty is commensurate with the violation committed by the noticees".

"The noticees by their failure to disseminate price sensitive information promptly, deprived the investors of the significant information at the relevant time".

As per Sebi norms, price sensitive information' means any information which relates directly or indirectly to a company and which if published is likely to materially affect the price of securities of company.
Such information has to given by listed firms to bourses and "disseminated on a continuous and immediate basis".
Sebi observed that MAN Industries had made certain corporate announcements to the exchanges about bagging certain order worth Rs 1,340 crore from Middle East, in 2009.
The said were obtained by the company through contract with Niroo Gustar Institute Iran and Green Refinement Company (GRC) signed on March 1, 2009 and April 22, 2009 respectively.

Sebi found that the information relating to bagging of order from Niroo Gustar was filed with the exchanges with a delay of 59 days and of Green Refinement was filed with a delay of 7 days.