9911796707
TMI Blog2023 (10) TMI 1258X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd legality of the order dated October 28, 2022 passed by the Adjudicating Officer ("AO" for convenience) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India ("SEBI" for convenience) imposing a penalty of Rs. 10 lakhs under Section 15G(i) of the SEBI Act for insider trading in the scrip of the Company known as Sobha Limited ("the Company" for convenience). 2. The facts leading to the filing of the present appeal is, that the investigation was conducted in the scrip of the Company for the period from 01.09.2017 to 30.11.2017, pursuant to which a show cause notice dated 09.05.2022 was issued to the appellant to show cause as to why an enquiry should not be initiated and why penalty should not be imposed under Section 15G(i) of the SEBI Act for the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... therefore, he has not committed any violation of the PIT Regulations or of the SEBI Act. The appellant further contended that he has not sold the shares which he has purchased and therefore cannot be found guilty of the charge of trading while in possession of inside information. 4. The AO after considering the material evidence on record held that the real estate operation update was an UPSI as per Regulation 2(1)(n) of the PIT Regulations. The appellant was also an insider as per Regulation 2(1)(g) of the PIT Regulations. The AO also found that he was also a connected person in terms of Regulation 2(1)(d) of the PIT Regulations. The AO came to the conclusion that the purchases made by the appellant was motivated by the real estate operat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... but the appellant in his capacity of being the Vice Chairman and Managing Director was obviously aware prior to the announcement of the sales volume and total sales value of the Company. This increase in the sales volume was a price sensitive information and the appellant was privy to this information. Thus, the appellant was not only a 'connected person' but was also an 'insider' in terms of the Regulation 2(1)(g) of the PIT Regulations. 8. The corporate announcement regarding update on the real estate operation of the Company was a price sensitive information. UPSI has been defined under Regulation 2(1)(n) which means any information that is not generally available and which upon becoming generally available is likely the materially aff ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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