MUMBAI: The regulatory investigation against the father-son duo of Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka seems to be never ending.
Securities watchdog the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on 2 January said that it will be filing a fresh show cause notice (SCN) against the two and will continue its investigation into listing guidelines violations by Chandra and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel). This was spelt out in the adjudication order issued by adjudicating officer (AO) Amit Kapoor on 2 January 2025.
In the order Kapoor stated “that the contents of the SCN dated 6 July 2022 issued by the AO will also be incorporated in the SCN to be issued in the instant matter.”
Zeel and its promoters are under Sebi investigation for not following Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements (LODR) 2015. The regulator had issued a show cause notice against them on 6 July 2022.
Both Zeel and Punit Goenka had filed settlement claims to settle the adjudication proceedings. Sebi normally allows entities against whom investigations have been initiated to apply for settlement by paying a certain fee or complying with the rules that the watchdog lays out.
Their application was rejected by a panel of whole time Sebi members who also instructed it to continue with the investigation.
Kapoor’s adjudication order states that once the investigation into the instant matter is complete, the competent authority should proceed against Zeel, Chandra, and Goenka under section 11B of the Sebi Act 1992. (Section 11B gives Sebi the powers to levy penalties. Penalties can vary from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore or to Rs 25 crore or 10 years in prison or both depending under which section of the Sebi Act or Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 they are being levied)
Kapoor’s order further states that the allegations contained in the SCN of 6 July 2022 are to be subsumed with the findings of the further investigation carried out by Sebi in the instant matter.
“Accordingly, the contents of the SCN dated July 06, 2022 issued by the AO including the examination report and all the relied upon documents will be treated as integral part of the further investigation report by Sebi in the matter of Zeel. The contents of the SCN dated 6 July 2022 issued by the AO to Zeel, Chandra and Goenka will also be incorporated in the SCN to be issued in the instant matter. The instant AO proceedings would be dropped against the three, ” he further states in his order.
