Supreme Court Upholds SAT Order in RIL Trading Case

The Supreme Court dismissed SEBI's plea against a Securities Appellate Tribunal order that overturned penalties on Mukesh Ambani and others in a 2007 Reliance Petroleum trading case. The SAT's ruling exonerated Ambani, citing lack of evidence tying him directly to alleged manipulative trades, originally fined by SEBI in 2021.

On Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea filed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) against an earlier ruling by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). The SAT had overturned penalties imposed on Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Navi Mumbai SEZ Pvt Ltd, and Mumbai SEZ Ltd, in connection with alleged manipulative trading of Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) shares in 2007.

The Supreme Court bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan declined to interfere with the SAT's 2023 order, stating there was no substantial question of law involved in the appeal. The bench noted that pursuing the case further would be unproductive, as the tribunal found no evidence directly linking Ambani to the contested trades.

Initially, in January 2021, SEBI fined RIL and associated parties for allegedly violating trading regulations through a coordinated scheme involving the cash and futures segments. However, the SAT later ruled that no liability could be imposed on Ambani and others due to a lack of evidence showing direct involvement in the trades orchestrated by company-appointed agents.

(With inputs from agencies.)