Sebi slaps Rs 1 lakh fine on Bilcare CMD

Market regulator Sebi today said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on Bilcare's chairman and managing director (CMD) Mohan H Bhandari for failing to submit a mandatory report regarding his acquisition of company's shares.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) slapped a fine of Rs one lakh on Bilcare CMD Mohan H Bhandari and said the penalty is "commensurate with the default committed by the Noticee (Bhandari)".

The regulator said it had carried a probe into the shares of Bilcare during January 1-December 11, 2003. The investigation had revealed that Mr Bhandari had acquired 5.60 lakh shares representing 17.6 per cent stake. As a result of the acquisition, the shareholding of Mr Bhandari increased from 5.37 per cent in April 1, 2003 to 22.43 per cent in September 5, 2003.

As per the norms, an acquirer is required to submit a report about the share acquisition to Sebi within 21 days of the transaction. Thereafter, the person is entitled to exercise 15 per cent or more of the voting rights in the company.

However, Mr Bhandari failed to submit the report, Sebi said. The regulator said it also observed that Mr Bhandari was eligible for exemption under the regulations as it was an inter-se transfer amongst promoters. But, he did not claim exemption, requiring him to submit the report, it added.