New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on multiple investigative agencies for adopting a “friendly approach” in probing allegations of financial “illegalities” involving Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (IHFL), now renamed as Sammaan Capital Ltd.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi remarked it was “deeply concerned” with the slow and inconsistent pace of action by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), despite the gravity of accusations raised in the pending petition filed by Citizens Whistle Blower Forum (CWBF).
Observing that the Centre agencies did not seem eager to move forward, the Justice Kant-led Bench said that the apex court was concerned about the pace of the investigation. It added that SEBI, in particular, must avoid “double standards” and act decisively in cases involving suspected financial irregularities and possible harm to investors.
The Justice Kant-led Bench remarked that SEBI has full authority to probe the allegations and should act without hesitation. Pushing the CBI to move beyond preliminary investigation, the top court questioned the probe agency as to why no FIR had been registered so far. Filing an FIR would enable the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to effectively examine the money-laundering aspect of the matter, it remarked.
During the hearing, the ED assured the Supreme Court that it would convene a joint coordination meeting with the CBI, SEBI and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) within two weeks. CWBF has filed a plea before the top court seeking an in-depth, thorough and time-bound investigation by an SIT into various serious “illegalities”, including round-tripping of funds, violations of provisions of the Companies Act, and siphoning of funds committed by the promoters of Indiabulls Housing Finance, its subsidiaries and their promoters.
The plea claimed that several companies, which received large loans from the firm, had small paid-up capital, overlapping directors, common office addresses and no real business activities.
In an earlier hearing, senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the promoters, denied all allegations, terming the claims “fictitious”, while the CBI had previously informed the top court that the agency had not found any wrong in IHFL’s disbursal of loans to corporate entities.
The Supreme Court has now directed authorities, including CBI, ED, SEBI and SFIO, to submit reports by December 17, the next date of hearing.
Following the apex court’s sharp observations, Sammaan Capital’s stock closed at Rs 158.40 on Wednesday, down Rs 24.36 or 13.33 per cent. In a press statement, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, the counsel for Sammaan Capital, said: “The present petition before the Supreme Court does not contain any allegation against Sammaan Capital.
The Court has referred to concerns raised about the previous promoter, Sameer Gehlaut, who has no shareholding or involvement in the company today. The Court has clarified in its order that it has made no observations on the merits of these allegations and has merely permitted the authorities to re-examine the matter.”
“We have no objection to this process. Since there is no allegation from any authority against Sammaan Capital, we are fully open to any inquiry the agencies may wish to conduct — once, twice, or even thrice. We have nothing to hide,” the statement added.
(IANS)
