Former Sebi Chairperson Seeks Justice in 1994 Stock Exchange Controversy

Madhabi Puri Buch, the former chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), along with Bombay Stock Exchange MD Sundararaman Ramamurthy and others, have approached the Bombay High Court. They are seeking to quash a special court order that directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to register an FIR against them concerning an alleged 1994 irregular listing of a company on the stock exchange and oversight failure.

Legal Battle Over Alleged Regulatory Lapses

The petitioners argue that the order is unjust and harsh, emphasizing that none of them held the positions in 1994 and that no vicarious liability can be imposed on them. Justice S G Dige has scheduled the petitions for hearing and has orally instructed the ACB to refrain from taking any action on the trial court order until then.

Senior counsel Amit Desai, representing BSE managing director Sundaraman Ramamurthy, criticized the FIR order based on a four-line complaint filed in 2024 for a 2009 investment in a company listed in 1994. The petitioners also highlighted the trial court's failure to require prior sanction from the central government under the Prevention of Corruption Act and to provide reasons for dispensing with such a requirement.