CA Online

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is once again caught on the wrong foot, and this time for one of its recent circulars that  made public names of over 2,000 entities, which have defaulted on its dues. Some of the companies named in the list have raised objections with the finance ministry, stating that the list was erroneous, said sources aware of the  development.  The regulator had pulled out the circular dated 2 April within hours without any explanation. But, the uncertainty and confusion among market players,  triggered by the list, lingered. The list featured some prominent names like SBI Capital, Axis Capital, GMR Holdings, United Breweries, Alpic Finance (a Cipla group unit), Saradha Realty,  United Bank of India and Trident India. “Putting our name on the defaulter list has sent a wrong message to our shareholders. It has affected the company image,” said the official of a company  whose name was on the list. An ex...

The Supreme Court on Friday reprimanded the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for refusing to disclose information pertaining to the annual inspection report on  banks under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and warned that any further attempts by the banking sector regulator to hold back such information “shall be  viewed seriously by the court”. Though the apex court held the RBI in contempt of court, it gave the regulator “one last opportunity” to withdraw the disclosure policy related to the  annual inspection report on banks. The RBI, the court held, was “duty-bound under the law” to provide such information, which was otherwise exempted under  law. “Though we could have taken a serious view of the respondents continuing to violate the directions issued by this court, we give them a last  opportunity to withdraw the disclosure policy insofar as it contains exemptions which are contrary to the directions issued by this court,” a two-judge  Bench of Just...