In a relief to Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, the Supreme Court has dismissed a plea by Sebi to impose a Rs 25 crore penalty on him, Mint reported. The case is related to an alleged share manipulation involving Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) in November 2007. RPL was merged into Rreliance Industries in 2009.
In January 2021, Sebi had imposed a penalty of Rs 25 crore on Reliance and Rs 15 crore on Ambani. It had also asked the Navi Mumbai SEZ to pay a penalty of Rs 20 crore. However, in December 2023, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) had quashed the markets regulator's 2021 order against Reliance, Ambani, Mumbai SEZ and the Navi Mumbai SEZ.
"There is no question of law raised in the case. Dismissed," the court said. It added that the case must be closed regarding Ambani, but agreed to hear Sebi’s appeal against Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on December 2.
“What erroneous interpretation you found with Sec 15 (h). 30 yrs of litigation…this is a long time.. no question of law is involved,” a bench led by Justice JB Paridiwala said. Meanwhile, Reliance is still the most valuable firm in India with a market cap of Rs 17.23 lakh crore.
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