RIL says got SEBI notices on 3 issues, reply submitted

As fate of an alleged seven-year-old insider trading case continues to hang in balance, Reliance Industries says it was issued ‘show cause notices' by SEBI on three issues and the reply has been submitted for the same to the markets regulator.

The case, where RIL has been accused of making unlawful gains through alleged violation of insider trading norms, has been before the Securities Appelate Tribubal for a long time.

RIL had approached SAT after SEBI refused to settle the case through its ‘consent settlement mechanism', while norms were also tightened for such settlements in May 2012, while excluding insider trading cases from their ambit.

The SAT, which hears appeals against decisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), last month sought more clarity on the issues related to RIL's appeal as also on the mechanism at SEBI for deciding on consent pleas.

Giving an update on the case in its latest Annual Report for the fiscal 2013-14, being sent to RIL shareholders ahead of their AGM on June 18, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has said that SEBI has issued Show Cause Notices during last three years in connection with three issues.

These three matters have been listed by RIL as "sale of shares of erstwhile Reliance Petroleum Limited; the allotment of the Company's equity shares to certain companies against detachable warrants attached to privately placed debentures issued by the company; and disclosure of Earnings Per Share and diluted Earnings Per Share in the filing with Stock Exchanges in respect of shares against warrants issued in April, 2007."

"The company has submitted its reply for the same," RIL added.

RIL has clarified in the annual report that "there has been no instance of non-compliance by the company on any matter related to capital markets during last three years, and hence, no penalties or strictures have been imposed on the company by stock exchanges or SEBI".

SEBI began investigating RIL in 2008 for allegedly making profits from insider information on Reliance Petroleum, then a subsidiary company which later got merged with it.

The first show-cause notice is believed to have been issued in 2010, after which RIL sought to settle the matter through consent mechanism, which allow settlement of a case without admission or denial of guilt.

Ever since SEBI rejected the consent plea, the matter has been before the SAT.