Tribunal adjourns Reliance-Sebi case hearing till December 20

Stating that it will not grant any further adjournments and wants to close the case by the end of this month, the Securities Appellate Tribunal on Tuesday deferred hearing on an appeal by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) against market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in the insider-trading case to December 20.

SAT presiding officer J P Devadhar reiterated his concern on the frequent adjournments in the case that has been on since 2010.

"We are concerned about the case as it is of 2010. Both the parties are responsible for delaying the closure of this case. We want to dispose of the case by the end of December in any case," said Mr Devadhar.

RIL is fighting two cases - one challenging the new consent mechanism guidelines that market regulator Sebi issued in May last year, and another one seeking adjudication proceedings on the insider trading case related to its 2007 sale of Reliance Petroleum shares.

The new consent settlement guidelines exclude insider-trading cases because of which RIL's plea has gone out of consideration.

At the earlier instances, including the recent hearings, the case has seen frequent adjournments as RIL has been asking for different sets of documents from Sebi.

"You cannot keep changing your demands. This case has been oscillating from here and there from June 2010, when Sebi had first issued the showcase notice to your clients. It can't go on an on like this for ever," Mr Devadhar had told RIL counsel Mr Dwarakadas earlier.

"We don't want investors to be left in the lurch because of such indecision. First, let's know how many documents you are demanding from the regulator," he had said.

The RIL-Sebi case dates back to 2007, when before the merger of the RPL with itself, RIL short-sold 4.1 per cent stake in Reliance Petroleum for Rs 4,023 crore in the futures market to allegedly prevent a price correction and later in the spot market, covering the share sales in the futures market.

As per the Sebi findings, the company booked a profit of Rs 513 crore in the futures segment through this deal worth Rs 4,023 crore. RPL was later merged with RIL.

Sebi charged that the company was aware of the sale of shares and sold futures ahead of that, therefore amounting to insider trading.

Following this, Sebi ordered a probe and found that RIL had violated insider-trading norms. Though it approached Sebi for consent settlement, the regulator did not entertain the application, forcing RIL to move SAT.

Under Sebi's consent mechanism, companies can seek to settle cases with the regulator after paying certain charges and disgorgement of any ill-gotten gains.