SEBI rejects five consent pleas

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on Wednesday, said it had turned down five consent applications, including that of G Ramakrishnan, former director, Pyramid Saimira Theatre, seeking settlement of proceedings regarding alleged violations of market regulator’s norms.

With this, the total number of rejected applications for settlement by the SEBI has touched 228, ever since the revised rules for consent framework came into effect on May 25, 2012.

The five applications included one by Pyramid Saimira’s former independent director G. Ramakrishnan, who has been charged with violation of SEBI’s ‘Prohibition of fraudulent and unfair trade practices’ regulations.

In its latest update, for the period October 22-November 25, 2013, SEBI has also rejected consent pleas of Khandwala Securities, IQMS Software, Genesis Developers & Holdings, and one Kailash S Choudhari. While Khandwala Securities is charged with fraudulent trading activities and violation of stock broker norms in matter of Shree Rama Multi Tec, IQMS Software has been accused of violating SEBI’s guidelines on ‘disclosure and investor protection’

Besides, Genesis Developers & Holdings and Kailash S Choudhari are facing proceedings for violations of takeover norms.

SEBI said that the five applications have been rejected “as they are not found to be in consonance” with its norms on consent mechanism, which were issued in May 2012. “The pending proceedings in these cases will continue in accordance with law,” it added.

In May last year, SEBI had tightened its regulations for settlement through consent framework, while the regulator has been making public the names of the rejected applications since January this year.

Under SEBI’s consent mechanism, firms and individuals can seek to settle the cases with the market regulator after the payment of certain charges, without admission or denial of any wrongdoings.

Meanwhile, the market regulator had recently proposed new norms for settlement of administrative and civil proceedings against suspected market defaulters, except in cases of serious violations such as illicit pooling of funds from investors, insider trading and fraudulent and unfair trades.