Be tough with top executives manipulating markets: SC to Sebi

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked market regulator Sebi to deal sternly with companies and directors indulging in insider-trading and similar “manipulative” behaviour. “Sebi has a duty to protect investors, individual and collective, against opportunistic behaviour of directors and insiders of listed companies so as to safeguard market’s integrity,” the top court said.

Economic offences are serious crimes, which if not properly dealt with, will affect the country’s economic growth, slow down the inflow of foreign investment and damage India’s securities market, justices KS Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said in their verdict on an appeal against a Securities Appellate Tribunal order by N Narayanan who was restrained by Sebi from buying, selling or dealing in securities, for two years from April 18, 2011.

Narayanan was promoter and whole-time director of M/s Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd whose shares were listed both on the BSE and the NSE. “A message should go that our country will not tolerate ‘market abuse’ and that we are governed by the ‘rule of law’.

Fraud, deceit, artificiality, Sebi should ensure, have no place in the securities market of this country and ‘market security’ is our motto,” the court said. “People with power and money and in management of companies, unfortunately often command more respect in our society than subscribers and investors,” it added.