SEBI concedes to writ petition filed by Dr Subhash Chandra on summons

Dr Subhash Chandra, Chairman Emeritus, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and former Member of Rajya Sabha had filed a writ petition against the summons dated January 12, 2024, issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI); stating that the summons did not comply with the provisions of the SEBI Act, contained pre-determined and conclusive allegations and were in the nature of a show cause notice.

While accepting this contention, the Bombay High Court has granted Dr Chandra’s prayers.

In his writ petition, Dr Chandra had also raised concerns pertaining to the prevailing bias at the market regulator’s end, which were previously observed by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).

At a hearing conducted on June 26, 2024 at the Bombay High Court, SEBI conceded to the points raised in the writ petition. The Court has further advised Dr Chandra not to respond to the summons dated January 12, 2024, and has guided him to only provide any information/ documents as may be available with him, sought in the subsequent communication of SEBI dated March 27, 2024.

On the point highlighted by Dr Chandra in his writ petition pertaining to the prevailing bias at the market regulator’s end, SEBI has informed the Court that going forward, the final order will be passed by an official other than the Whole Time Member, Ashwani Bhatia for the matters pertaining to Dr Chandra and ZEE; to ensure that there is no element of biasness.

In this matter, and on the other challenges, the Court has kept all the rights and contentions of Dr Chandra and ZEE open, and the copy of the order is awaited.