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TMI Blog2024 (8) TMI 856X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ticees"; unless the context specifies otherwise) TABLE OF CONTENTS Particulars Paragraph Nos. Page Nos. A. Background 1 - 4 3 - 5 B. Details of Noticees 5-8 5 - 7 C. Key evidences collected during the investigation 9-10 7-8 D. Connection amongst Noticees 11-20 8 - 27 E. Sharing of information in advance about stock recommendations by Guest Experts and trades carried out by Profit Makers based on such advance information 21-81 27 - 65 F. Increase in trade volume as well as positive movement of price in line with the direction of the recommendation 82 - 115 66 - 79 G. Role of Enablers 116 - 117 79-81 H. Summary of profit on intraday trade based on advance information of recommendation 118-131 81-92 I. Sharing of profits amongst Noticees 132-141 92-100 J. Determination of facts 142 - 143 100 - 103 K. Examination of violation of provisions of SEBI Act and regulations made thereunder 144 - 164 103- 117 L. Need for interim ex-parte order 165 - 172 117 - 120 M. Joint and several liability 173 - 174 120 - 122 N. Ex parte interim order 175 - 183 123 - 127 A. Background 1. The present proceedings are emanating from an inve ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... atements of Noticees; c) Analysis of Client Application Forms (CAF) provided by Telecom Service Providers (TSP); d) Analysis of Call Data Records (CDR) of Noticees; e) Analysis of Geographical locations of Noticees during certain periods; f) Analysis of trading activities of Noticees; g) Analysis of recorded videos of shows provided by Zee Media Corporation Limited ("ZMCL"); h) Analysis of Account Opening Forms (AOF) provided by banks; and i) Analysis of relevant material available on Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) website. B. Details of Noticees 5. In order to have a better understanding of the matter and the role played by suspected entities, Noticees have been divided into three categories as per immediately succeeding paragraphs. 6. First category- Profit Makers The first category is "Profit Makers" which comprises of entities that made profit by executing trades which were allegedly executed based on advance information of stock recommendations given by guest experts. In the extant matter, Nirmal Kumar Soni (Noticee No. 1), Partha Sarathi Dhar (Noticee No. 2), SAAR Commodities Private Limited (Noticee No. 3/ SAAR Commodities), Manan Sharecom Private Lim ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ss and provided stock recommendations under the tagline "KIRAN KA KAMAL". As per the website of Kiran Jadhav & Associates, he has trained over 14,000 individuals in the field of technical analysis of shares. c) Mr. Himanshu Gupta (Noticee No. 13) is a research professional and Senior Vice President (Research) at Globe Capital Market Limited (as per the website of this company). He provided stock recommendations under the tagline "HITMAN HIMANSHU" on shows broadcasted on Zee Business. It is seen that he had over 15,700 followers on "X" (erstwhile Twitter) during the investigation period. d) Mr. Mudit Goyal (Noticee No. 14) is a SEBI registered Research Analyst at present (not at the time during the investigation period). He provided stock recommendations under the tagline "MUDIT KE MUNAFE" on shows broadcasted on Zee Business. It is seen that he had a following of over 25,300 followers on "X" (erstwhile Twitter) during the investigation period. e) Ms. Simi Bhaumik (Noticee No. 15) is a SEBI registered Research Analyst. She provided stock recommendations under the tagline "SIMI KE NON STOP SHARES" on shows broadcasted on Zee Business. It is seen that while acting as a Research ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ient Application Forms received from TSP; AOF provided by Bank; Statement recorded dated January 19, 2023 982XXXX688 SAAR Commodities (Noticee No.3) KYC details provided by Bank 773XXXX742 Manan Sharecom Pvt Ltd. (Noticee No.4) AOF provided by Bank 977XXXX111 Kanhya Trading Company (Noticee No.5) AOF provided by Bank 977XXXX111 Nitin Chhalani (Noticee No.6) Client Application Form received from TSP 981XXXX506 Rupesh Kumar Matoliya (Noticee No.7) Client Application Form received from TSP 981XXXX056 Ajaykumar Ramakant Sharma (Noticee No.8) Client Application Form received from TSP 981XXXX506 SAAR Securities (Noticee No.9) KYC details provided by Bank 982XXXX678 Ramawatar Lalchand Chotia (Noticee No.10) Client Application Form received from TSP 982XXXX880 Kiran Jadhav (Noticee No.11) Client Application Form received from TSP; Statement recording dated January 19, 2023 988XXXX277 Ashish Kelkar (Noticee No.12) Client Application Form received from TSP Statement recording dated January 19, 2023 844XXXX469 Himanshu Gupta (Noticee No.13) Client Application Form received from TSP Statement recording dated January 19, 2023 925XXXX511 Mudit Goyal (Noticee No ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 14. Connection amongst Nirmal Kumar Soni, Kiran Jadhav and Ashish Kelkar a. The relevant CDRs/ Whatsapp chats/Telegram chats pertaining to the investigation period have been analysed and it is observed that Nirmal Kumar Soni (773XXXX742) had calls/Whatsapp chats/ Telegram chats with both Kiran Jadhav (982XXXX880) and Ashish Kelkar (988XXXX277). It is also observed from the said Whatsapp chats that Nirmal Kumar Soni had met Kiran Jadhav in Pune (December 24, 2022) and in Dubai(2022). The said fact is also corroborated by the Whatsapp chats/photos retrieved from the gallery of phone seized during the search and seizure. Further, during the statement recording on January 19, 2023 of Kiran Jadhav, the following was inter alia stated by him: "52. From 2021, how many times Soni has met you and in which locations? Ans: Thrice in Poona, once in Jaipur and once in Dubai (whole trip was sponsored by Nirmal Soni). Apart from the above locations I haven't met them." b. On analysis of Telegram chats between Ashish Kelkar (988XXXX277) and Kiran Jadhav (982XXXX880) dated April 18, 2022, it is noted that Nirmal Kumar Soni had visited both Kiran Jadhav and Ashish Kelkar in Pune on April 18, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ality being used by/registered in the name of Nirmal Kumar Soni and the same number was also being used to interact with each other. Thus, for the purposes of this order, Vikash Parasar is to be seen as another name for Nirmal Kumar Soni. e. Thus, it can be seen that Nirmal Kumar Soni is connected to Simi Bhaumik. 16. Connection between Nirmal Kumar Soni and Kanhya Trading Company/ Nitin Chhalani. a. The CDRs pertaining to the relevant period were analysed and it is observed that Nirmal Kumar Soni (773XXXX742) had communicated frequently with Nitin Chhalani (977XXXX111) over calls during the relevant period. b. The various chats (as recovered from phone) shared between them have been analysed and it is observed that in one of the Whatsapp chats dated May 17, 2022, Nitin Chhalani had requested Nirmal Kumar Soni to get the password reset for MXX96 (which is short for Client Code N_1XX81_MXX96 that is associated with Kanhya Trading Company), and the same was done by Nirmal Kumar Soni. The screenshot of the said whatsapp has been illustrated below: Illustration No. 3 c. It is observed that the client code was provided by the Stock Broker- Motisons Shares Pvt. Ltd. where Nirma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ngs in Jaipur and Mumbai are provided below- Illustration No. 6 Illustration No. 7 d. The mobile number of Ramawatar Lalchand Chotia was saved as "Ram Sharma SAAR" in the mobile phone of Nirmal Kumar Soni. In one of the Whatsapp chats dated December 07, 2022 between Nimal Kumar Soni and Ramawatar Lalchand Chotia, it is observed that Ramawatar Lalchand Chotia requested Nirmal to square off open positions in the Client code SC100. This Client Code SC100 is of SAAR Commodities with SAAR Securities as the trading member. The screenshot of the above conversation is depicted below; Illustration No. 8 e. In another Whatsapp chat dated December 10, 2022, Ramawatar Lalchand Chotia is seen to have instructed Nirmal Kumar Soni to transfer a specific sum to the bank account of SAAR Commodities for 1-2 days due to margin- related issues and the screenshot of the same is depicted herein. Illustration No. 9 f. On analysis of Whatsapp chats of Nirmal Kumar Soni (773XXXX742), it is observed that on July 22, 2022, Nirmal Kumar Soni had received a User ID (25630) and corresponding password from one Mohammed Kammal Anwar (724XXXX882), whose name was saved as "SAAR IT" on his (Nirmal Kumar So ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Ramawatar Sharma AJLPS4480N 12856 44656 FO Narendra Kumar EGAPK0043R 12856 44656 FO Lokesh Kumar Solanki CIUPS3262C 12856 49662 FO Uddesh Sharma NMXPS3360H 12856 49663 FO Phool Singh CHGPS1033Q 12856 17133 FO Rohit Prajapat COEPP2884K 12856 49659 FO Vijay Verma AFHPV5573K 12856 49660 FO Hemaraj Sharma HKAPS1424M 12856 49661 FO Parsan Jeet Pal BLMPP2439N h. Upon analyzing the bank statements of Nirmal Kumar Soni (HDFC account -50XXXXXXXXXX61) and SAAR Securities (Axis account- 21XXXXXXXXXX12), it is observed that a total sum of INR 3.15 Lakh was transferred from SAAR Securities' account to Nirmal Kumar Soni's account between October 17, 2022 and December 06, 2022. i. From the above narration of facts, it can be inferred that SAAR Securities and SAAR Commodities a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ween the phone numbers 988XXXX277 (registered in the name of Ashish Kelkar) and 772XXXX688 (registered in the name of Rutvik Jadhav, son of Kiran Jadhav). Further, CDRs also shows calls between the numbers 931XXX971 (registered in the name of Nirmal Kumar Soni) and 772XXXX688 (registered in the name of Rutvik Jadhav, son of Kiran Jadhav). b. There were frequent calls amongst Ashish Kelkar (988XXXX277), Himanshu Gupta (844XXXX469) and Mudit Goyal (925XXX511) throughout the investigation period. c. It is observed that Mudit Goyal (925XXXX511) had contacted Himanshu Gupta (844XXXX469) over calls during the investigation period. Further, it is observed from the Whatsapp chats between Ashish Kelkar and Kiran Jadhav that Himanshu Gupta and Mudit Goyal had visited them in Pune. In view of the said discussion, it can be seen that, Kiran Jadhav, Ashish Kelkar, Himanshu Gupta and Mudit Goyal are connected to each other. d. The analysis of CDRs also shows that Simi Bhaumik (983XXXX790) communicated with Kiran Jadhav (982XXXX880) and Mudit Goyal(925XXXX511) over phone calls. It can be seen that Simi Bhaumik is connected to Kiran Jadhav and Mudit Goyal. e. Thus, it can be seen that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Partha Sarathi Dhar (974XXX921), it is seen that the Guest Expert Simi Bhaumik had shared information about her recommendation to buy 'BALRAMPUR CHINI' at 10:21 AM, in advance, with Partha Sarathi Dhar. Same can be seen from the screenshot below- Screenshot no. 2 25. An analysis of the trades executed by Partha Sarathi Dhar on August 25, 2022, showed the following: Table No. 3 DATE SYMBOL INSTRUME NT TYPE BUY QUANTI TY BUY VALUE BUY ORDE R STAR T TIME SELL QUANTI TY SELL VALUE SELL ORDE R START TIME Reco Time 25/08/22 BALRAMC HIN FUTSTK 33,600 1,21,27,120 .00 10:35:24 33,600 1,22,30,400.00 10:41:56 10:41:00 26. From the above, it is seen that Partha Sarathi Dhar had advance information of the recommendation to be made by his wife Simi Bhaumik on Zee Business. The above screenshot shows that Simi Bhaumik had shared her recommendations with Partha Sarathi Dhar before recommending the same on Zee Business. Thus, she facilitated Partha Sarathi Dhar to take a position or execute trade based on such advance information of recommendation being broadcasted. The above screenshot also shows that Simi Bhaumik, apart from sharing the non-public information pe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6 Hrs and by Manan Sharecom between 10:41:35 Hrs and 10:44:13 Hrs i.e. around the time when the relevant recommendation was being aired on the news channel. An immediate question that may come up in mind may be about the sell order start time being just before the public announcement of the recommendation by Simi Bhaumik. In this respect, it is noticed that the aforementioned Noticees have placed limit sell orders. That means when they saw Simi Bhaumik on the channel they knew about the impending recommendation and also knew that once recommendation is made, share price would go up. Hence, they placed limit sell order at higher price which got executed after the recommendation was made and price rose following the recommendation. Thus, as per the calculation on table above, profit amounting to INR 1,03,280 was made by Partha Sarathi Dhar and amounting to INR 1,75,360 was made by Manan Sharecom, based on advance information of the recommendation to be made by Simi Bhaumik. E.2. Sharing of advance information between Mudit Goyal and Partha Sarathi Dhar via Simi Bhaumik and subsequent trade by Partha Sarathi Dhar 30. From the materials available on record, it is observed that on Ma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1) It was also seen that a WhatsApp chat between Simi Bhaumik and Mudit Goyal was shared by Nirmal Kumar Soni from his one mobile number (931XXXX971) to his other mobile number (773XXX742). The screenshot of the same is shown below- Screenshot no. 5 35. From the above, it is seen that Nirmal Kumar Soni had information regarding WhatsApp chats shared between Simi Bhaumik and Mudit Goyal. The chat dated October 25, 2022 indicates that Mudit Goyal had communicated to Simi Bhaumik about his intent to temporarily discontinue sharing of stock recommendations in advance with her. It can be inferred that Simi Bhaumik not only shared her stock recommendations with Nirmal Kumar Soni but also passed on information about stock recommendations to be given by Mudit Goyal. During the investigation, it has been seen that the aforementioned Whatsapp chats were not found in the seized devices of Simi Bhaumik and Mudit Goyal, which implies that these Whatsapp chats were deleted by them from their mobile phones. However, these whatsapp chats recovered from the mobile of Nirmal Kumar Soni demonstrates sharing of advance information about stock recommendation by Mudit Goyal to Simi Bhaumik and from Si ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ight before the time of broadcast of the recommendation) and the second leg of the trade was executed at 15:01:35 Hrs (which is buy of June futures contract, after the broadcast of the recommendation). Further, the connection between Nirmal Kumar Soni and SAAR Commodities has already been established (para17). 40. From the above, it can be seen that trades executed by Nirmal Kumar Soni through SAAR Commodities and by Partha Sarathi Dhar in the scrip of CHAMBLFERT, were executed based on the advance knowledge of the recommendations received by them. 41. There is another incident noted from the extracted Whatsapp chat dated August 18, 2022 between Simi Bhaumik and Partha Sarathi Dhar wherein Simi Bhaumik is found to have stated that recommendations were shared by Mudit to Kiran and that Vikash (already seen to be Nirmal Kumar Soni) traded on the basis of those recommendations. The screenshot of the relevant chat extract is produced below: Screenshot no. 8 42. It is also seen that on the same day i.e. August 18, 2022, Simi Bhaumik forwarded another Whatsapp conversation to Partha Sarathi Dhar wherein Nirmal Kumar Soni (named as Vikash Parasar in the chat) acknowledges the receipt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Nirmal Kumar Soni, even though it was saved in the phone of Simi Bhaumik as 'Vikash Parasar'. From the above Whatsapp chat, it can be seen that Nirmal Kumar Soni was referring to his communication with Ashish Kelkar regarding calls of Mudit Goyal. It can also be seen that Simi Bhaumik and Nirmal Kumar Soni shared information pertaining to recommendations of Ashish Kelkar and Mudit Goyal and the above further suggests that information was knowingly shared through Guest Experts with the Profit Makers, particularly with the Noticee Nos. 1 and 2. E.5. Acknowledgement of sharing of advance information, trades based on such information and sharing of profit from such trades by Noticees 47. The sharing of advance information of recommendations, subsequent trade based on such information and further sharing of profit, can also be corroborated from the statements recorded on January 19, 2023 of Simi Bhaumik, Mudit Goyal, Kiran Jadhav, Ashish Kelkar and Nirmal Kumar Soni. 48. In the statement of Simi Bhaumik recorded on January 19, 2023, following was inter alia stated by her: "Q13. Do you also provide the stock recommendation calls to your client base/ other entities prior to recomme ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t of Nirmal Kumar Soni was recorded on January 19, 2023 in Hindi. In the said statement, Nirmal Kumar Soni inter alia stated the following: For ease of reference, the above statement has been transcribed in English and the same is mentioned below: "Yes she shared with everyone. After that we used to check the chart and we used to get 2 minutes to 5 minutes in advance." E.6. Sharing of advance information amongst Ashish Kelkar, Simi Bhaumik and Nirmal Kumar Soni and trade based on such information 53. On August 18, 2022, a recommendation to "BUY" ADANI ENT was made by Ashish Kelkar at around 13:13 Hrs on Zee Business as illustrated by the screenshot below: Screenshot no. 11 54. An extracted Whatsapp chat for the same day shows that a conversation was forwarded by Simi Bhaumik to Partha Sarathi Dhar wherein Nirmal Kumar Soni (named as Vikash Parasar in the chat) indicated (at 01:12 PM) that Ashish Kelkar was also going to recommend "ADANIENT" soon and his subsequent chats indicated that he had entered into trades based on this advance knowledge. The screenshot of the relevant chat extract is produced below for reference: Screenshot no. 12 55. On analysis of the trading det ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the conversations dated June 30, 2022 is produced below Table no. 9 59. On analysing the video recordings of Zee Business shows for June 30, 2022, it is observed that the timing of the appearances of Guest Experts viz., Mudit Goyal, Himanshu Gupta, and Ashish Kelkar was around the same time as informed by Ashish Kelkar to Nirmal Kumar Soni. The screenshots of video recordings for June 30, 2022 are produced below- Table No.10 60. The below table illustrates the details of messages (as seen in the above screenshots) sent by Ashish Kelkar to Nirmal Soni w.r.t. appearance of Guest Experts: Table No. 11 Date Guest Expert Time of message Appearance as per message Actual time of Appearance Screenshot No. (Screenshot provided in the table 10 above) June 30, 2022 HG (Himanshu Gupta) 09:06 AM 09:20 AM 09:24 AM 1 09:06 AM Closing Show 03:04 PM 2 AK (Ashish Kelkar) 09:06 AM 01:30 PM Show 01:30 PM 3 MG (Mudit Goyal) 09:09 AM 09:35 Option Phoner 09:48 AM 4 12:30 PM Show &n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mal Kumar Soni with stock recommendations attributed to Himanshu Gupta and Mudit Goyal. 64.3. Nirmal Kumar Soni (773XXXX742 and 931XXXX971) and Ashish Kelkar (988XXXX277) had deleted relevant chats/messages (with respect to appearance of and stock recommendation given by Guest Experts) from their mobile phones. However, the screenshot of the message (as shown in the Table 9 above) was recovered from the mobile phone number 773XXXX742 of Nirmal Kumar Soni as it was forwarded to Nitin Chhalani. 64.4. Guest Experts were knowingly sharing information about the scrip/segment to be recommended by them in the program on Zee Business. E.8 Trades of SAAR Commodities Private Limited and Manan Sharecom Private Limited based on recommendations of Kiran Jadhav 65. It is observed that Kiran Jadhav gave the following recommendation under the tagline 'SPECIAL PICKS' on Zee Business for the scrip 'IndiaMART Limited': Table No. 15 66. Further, analysis of trading activity by the Profit Makers show that Manan Sharecom and SAAR Commodities Private Limited have got exposure in the contract of INDIAMART 4600 CE and details of which are the following: Table No. 16 Entity Name Manan Sharecom P ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Table No. 17 Scrip/contract Recommendation Date and time of recommendation Buy at (INR) Target Price (INR) GNFC 800CE Buy August 17, 2022 (Around 01:35 PM) 20 minimum Target Price of Rs.35 and Stop Loss of Rs.17 69. The summary of trading activity of Kanhya Trading Company in the contract of GNFC 800 CE is as follows: Table No.18 Entity Name Kanhya Trading Company PAN (AAXFK5345H) Contract Name GNFC 800 CE Expiry Date August 25, 2022 Trade Leg First leg of Trade Second leg of Trade Buy Sell Date August 17, 2022 Order Start Time 1:34:01 PM 1:36:02 PM Order End Time 1:34:12 PM 1:37:00 PM Trade Start Time 1:34:01 PM 1:36:02 PM Trade End Time 1:34:12 PM 1:37:02 PM Average Price 17.11 21.64 Traded Quantity 75,400 75,400 Total Value Traded (INR) 12,90,445 16,31,500 Client Traded Val to Market Val 0.70% Client Traded Val in the select security vis-à-vis all securities in the market 2.41% Profit INR 3,41,055 70. The trade analysis shows that Kanhya Trading Company initiated its Buy orders at 1:34:01 PM i.e. immediately before the recommendation was broadcasted on the show around 01:35 PM. Further, the sell orders were pl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d Val to Market Val 2.14% 1.03% Client Traded Val in the select security vis-à-vis all securities in the market 4.27% 7.92% Profit 3,98,400 2,06,400 74. From the above, it is observed that SAAR Commodities and Manan Sharecom had initiated their buy orders for 'PNB 42 CE' on September 20, 2022 at 2:24:58 PM and 2:24:36 PM, respectively, just before the recommendation which was telecasted on Zee Business at around 02:27 PM. Further, the sell orders were placed by SAAR Commodities (between 2:27:35 PM and 2:29:26 PM) and Manan Sharecom (2:28:43 PM and 2:28:48 PM) immediately after the said recommendation was aired on Zee Business. It has further been noticed that the buy order by Manan Sharecom had commenced at 2:24:36 PM and continued till 2:29:51 PM, however, majority of trades were placed well before the show was broadcasted and only a very insignificant part of the total trades was placed at 2:29:51 PM. The above table also shows the substantial amount of profit earned by those two Noticees through their trading in PNB 42 CE contract, wherein Himanshu Gupta had made recommendation on the channel of Zee Business. It has already been discussed in earlier part of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s had initiated the buy orders for "HINDCOPPER 105 CE" on August 08, 2022 at 12:54:50 PM, just before the recommendation of Mudit Goyal was aired on Zee Business. Further, the said Noticee had squared off the position and placed the Limit sell orders between 1:05:46 PM and 1:07:25 PM and the same were executed between 1:06:19 PM and 1:07:39 PM, which is around the same time as that of the recommendation. In the process, a substantial amount of profit of INR 3,18,415 was earned by the said Noticee through its above-mentioned intraday trade. 79. The connection between Nirmal Kumar Soni and SAAR Commodities Private Limited has been discussed at para 17. Sharing of advance information between Mudit Goyal and Nirmal Kumar Soni has been discussed at para 36-46. 80. The overall sharing of information/ recommendation between Guest Experts and Profit Makers can be summarized pictorially as below: Illustration 13 81. From the above, it is clear that the Guest Experts, directly/indirectly, used to share information with Nirmal Kumar Soni and Partha Sarathi Dhar, in advance, about the recommendations to be given by them on Zee Business. Certain instances have also been observed where the a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 0.47 3.77 Average High/ Low Variation % in succeeding 15 mins [t+15] 0.29 0.27 2.23 Volume Impact Post Recommendation Avg Trading Vol in Preceding 15 mins [t-15] (number of shares/underlying shares) 35,640 50,987 58,987 Avg Trading Vol during recommendation time and succeeding 2 mins [t and t+2] (number of shares/underlying shares) 1,44,327 2,18,133 2,65,067 Avg Trading Vol for succeeding 15 mins [t+15] (number of shares/underlying shares) 56,221 81,280 90,667 Relevant Price Sensitive Corporate Announcement on the day of the recommendation or the prior day No 85. The analysis of the price impact shows the following- * In the preceding 15 minutes before the recommendation, the average high/low price variation was relatively low at 0.24%, 0.26% and 2.26% for BALRAMCHIN (EQ), BALRAMCHIN Sep Futures and BALRAMCHIN 360CE respectively. * However, during the recommendation time and the subsequent 2 minutes (t and t+2), there was a significant surge in price volatility, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... : Trades of SAAR Commodities Private Limited and Manan Sharecom Private Limited based on recommendations of Kiran Jadhav 90. It has been seen at paras 65-67 how SAAR Commodities Private Limited and Manan Sharecom Private Limited acted on the advance receipt of recommendation from Kiran Jadhav under the tagine 'SPECIAL PICKS' on Zee Business for the scrip 'IndiaMART Limited' and made substantial profits, it will be useful to look at the impact of such recommendation on price and volume of the scrip. 91. Analysis of the impact on the price and volume in the contract on being recommended in the show is given below- Illustration No. 16 Table No. 24 Recommendation date September 02, 2022 Recommendation time (t) ~02:15 PM Scrip/Contract Recommended INDIAMART 4600 CE Recommended Levels Recommended Price (INR) 290 Target Price (INR) 580/600 Stop Loss (INR) 240 Price Impact Post Recommen dation Average High/ Low Variation % in preceding 15 mins [t-15] 1.28 Average High/ Low Variation % during recommendation time and succeeding 2 mins [t and t+2] 12.64 Average High/ Low Variation % in succeeding 15 mins [t+15] 5.06 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y acted on the receipt of advance information about recommendation from Ashish Kelkar on the show of Zee Business for the scrip 'GNFC' and made substantial profits by taking position prior to the recommendation and squaring off the position after the airing of the recommendation on his shows on the Zee Business. It will be useful to examine the impact of such recommendation on price and volume of the said scrip/derivative contract. 97. Analysis of the impact on the price and volume in the contract on being recommended in the show is given below- Illustration No. 17 Table No.25 Recommendation date August 17,2022 Recommendation time (t) ~01:35 PM Scrip/Contract Recommended GNFC 800 CE Recommen ded Levels Recommended Price (INR) 20 Target Price (INR) 35 Stop Loss (INR) 17 Price Impact Post Recommen dation Average High/ Low Variation % in preceding 15 mins [t-15] 4.14 Average High/ Low Variation % during recommendation time and succeeding 2 mins [t and t+2] 9.45 Average High/ Low Variation % in succeeding 15 mins [t+15] 4.28 Volume Impact Post Recommen dation Avg Trading Vol in Preceding 15 mins [t-15] (number of underlying shares) 60,147 Avg Trading Vol duri ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... act 'PNB 42CE' and made substantial profits. It will be useful to examine the impact of such recommendation on price and volume on the contract 'PNB 42CE'. 103. Analysis of the impact on the price and volume in the contract on being recommended in the show is given below- Illustration No. 18 Table No. 26 Recommendation date September 20,2022 Recommendation time (t) ~02:27 PM Scrip/Contract Recommended PNB 42 CE Recommended Levels Recommended Price (INR) 1.2 Target Price (INR) 2.50/2.75 Stop Loss (INR) 0.8 Price Impact Post Recommendation Average High/ Low Variation % in preceding 15 mins [t-15] 3.61 Average High/ Low Variation % during recommendation time and succeeding 2 mins [t and t+2] 9.72 Average High/ Low Variation % in succeeding 15 mins [t+15] 5.84 Volume Impact Post Recommendation Avg Trading Vol in Preceding 15 mins [t-15] (number of underlying shares) 16,21,333 Avg Trading Vol during recommendation time and succeeding 2 mins [t and t+2] (number of underlying shares) 73,92,000 Avg Trading Vol for succeeding 15 mins [t+15] (number of underlying shares) 25,98,400 Relevant Price Sensitive Corporate Announcement on the day of the recommendation ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce and volume in the contract on being recommended in the show is given below- Illustration No. 19 Table No. 27 Recommendation date August 08, 2022 Recommendation time (t) Appearance at 01:05 PM Recommendation at 1:06PM Scrip/Contract Recommended HINDCOPPER 105 CE Recommended Levels Recommended Price (INR) 6.5 Target Price (INR) 14 Stop Loss (INR) 4 Price Impact Post Recommendation Average High/ Low Variation % in preceding 15 mins [t-15] 3.83 Average High/ Low Variation % during recommendation time and succeeding 2 mins [t and t+2] 8.45 Average High/ Low Variation % in succeeding 15 mins [t+15] 3.22 Volume Impact Post Recommendation Avg Trading Vol in Preceding 15 mins [t-15] 98,900 Avg Trading Vol during recommendation time and succeeding 2 mins [t and t+2] 10,40,600 Avg Trading Vol for succeeding 15 mins [t+15] 3,03,580 Relevant Price Sensitive Corporate Announcement on the day of the recommendation or the prior day No 111. From the above, a sudden spurt in the price and trading volume of the contract can be witnessed right after the recommendation was made on Zee Business. 112. Analysis of price impact shows as under- * In the preceding 15 min ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... horised persons. It has been discussed earlier that Noticee No. 3 (SAAR Commodities) had executed trades through the terminal of Noticee No. 9 (SAAR Securities) and the above two entities were having common Directors viz., Noticeea Nos. 7 and 8 (Rupesh Kumar Matoliya and Ajaykumar Ramakant Sharma). The records have shown that Noticees Nos. 7 and 8 being Directors of Noticee No. 3 were aware that trades in the account of the Noticee No. 3 was being executed by the Noticee no 1, who was in possession of non-public information of recommendations of Guest Experts before being broadcasted. The connection between Nirmal Kumar Soni and Kanhya Trading Company/Nitin Chhalani has been discussed at para 16. Connection amongst Nirmal Kumar Soni, SAAR Commodities and SAAR securities have been discussed at para 17. Detailed discussion at para 16 and para 17 establishes how Enablers (Noticees Nos 6 to 10) helped Noticees Nos 1,3,4 and 5 in their trades based on advance information of recommendations of Guest Experts. 117. In particular, it is seen that the proximity of communication between the Noticee No. 1 and Director of Noticee No. 9, SAAR Securities, were to the extent that the details of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h the help of Enablers (Noticees Nos 6 to 10) 119. The role played by each of Noticees in successfully executing recommendation based trades and generating profit is explained through an illustration below- Illustration No. 20 120. The summary of the intraday trades executed by Profit Makers i.e. Noticees Nos. 1 to 5 in both equity and equity derivative segment and the profits earned through trades during the investigation period, is placed below. It is clarified that this is summary of all intraday trades and not necessarily on recommendations based trades covered in this order. Table No.28 Name Partha Sarathi Dhar Kanhya Trading Company SAAR Commodities Private Limited Manan Sharecom Private Limited Nirmal Soni PAN ASCPD8155H AAXFK5345H AAJCS7343G AAPCM9816L BCHPS4866G Equity No of instances 506 16 - - - Gross Traded Value (INR) 1,84,43,07,592 38,33,097 - - - Average Gross Traded Value (INR) 36,44,877 2,39,569 - - - Square off earned (INR) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n recommendations based trades, certain parameters have been considered to select only specific intraday trades and the selection criteria is mentioned below- i. Recommendation in the scrip/contract is provided by the Guest Expert on Zee Business on the same day the trade was executed. ii. The timing of the first leg of the trade is before the recommendation time. iii. First leg of the trade was executed in the direction of the recommendation i.e. if the recommendation was 'buy', then 'buy' trade was executed and if recommendation was 'sell' then 'sell' trade was executed. iv. The traded quantity of the second leg, post-recommendation, exceeded 50% of the total quantity traded in the first leg. 122. The profit from recommendation based trades has been calculated using the following formula: Profit = (Minimum of Sell and Buy Quantity) * (Average Selling Price - Average Buying Price) 123. Based on the above mentioned criteria, recommendation based trades executed by Noticee Nos. 1 to 5 were selected for calculating the profit, generated in their account, analysis and comparison of recommendation based trades with total trades is as under: Table No. 29 Particulars ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... HIMANSHU GUPTA EQ-DERV 96,71,340 136 MUDIT GOYAL EQ-DERV 58,74,892 95 SIMI BHAUMIK EQ-DERV 38,36,432 56 SAAR Commodities Private Limited Total 4,37,57,697 506 AAPCM9 816L Manan Sharecom Private Limited KIRAN JADHAV EQ-DERV 47,25,506 33 ASHISH KELKAR EQ-DERV 46,88,930 31 MUDIT GOYAL EQ-DERV 19,34,856 25 HIMANSHU GUPTA EQ-DERV 13,38,889 33 SIMI BHAUMIK EQ-DERV 8,13,155 13 Manan Sharecom Private Limited Total 1,35,01,336 135 AAXFK5 345H Kanhya Trading Company KIRAN JADHAV EQ-DERV 44,70,408 28 MUDIT GOYAL EQ-DERV 31,03,319 19 ASHISH KELKAR EQ-DERV 14,93,140 21 HIMANSHU GUPTA EQ-DERV 14,62,258 24 SIMI BHAUMIK EQ-DERV 5,12,855 6 Kanhya Trading Company Total 1,10,41,979 98 ASCPD8 155H Partha Sarathi Dhar SIMI BHAUMIK EQ-DERV 17,59,015 72 EQ-CASH 26,12,126 139 MUDIT GOYAL EQ-DERV 5,86,296 52 EQ-CASH 55,493 16 KIRAN JADHAV EQ-DERV 3,01,967 7 HIMANSHU GUPTA EQ-DERV 59,963 13 EQ-CASH 2,000 1 ASHISH KELKAR EQ-DERV 7,800 2 Partha Sarathi Dhar Total 53,84,661 302 BCHPS4 866G Nirmal Soni HIMANSHU GUPTA EQ-DERV 2,04,750 2 ASHISH KELKAR EQ-DERV 1,96,825 3 MUDIT GOYAL ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Partha Sarathi Dhar, it is observed that he had earned a profit of INR 59,43,635 through 2,545 trade instances during the investigation period, out of which INR 53,84,661 was generated from 302 instances of recommendation based trades. Thus, 91% of his entire profit is from trade based on advance information about recommendation by guest experts. Further, the average profit earned from recommendation based trades is around 763% of the average profit earned from total trades. 130. Guest Expert Wise Profit Analysis for the period from February 01, 2022 to December 31, 2022 from recommendation based trades is provided below- Table No. 31 Guest Expert PAN Name Segment Profit from recommendati on based trades (INR) Reco based trade Instanc es KIRAN JADHAV AAJCS7343 G SAAR Commodities Private Limited EQ- DERV 1,41,75,013 113 AAPCM981 6L Manan Sharecom Private Limited EQ- DERV 47,25,506 33 AAXFK534 5H Kanhya Trading Company EQ- DERV 44,70,408 28 ASCPD815 5H Partha Sarathi Dhar EQ- DERV 3,01,967 7 KIRAN JADHAV Total 2,36,72,894 181 Ashish Kelkar AAJCS7343 G SAAR Commodities Private Limited EQ- DERV 1,02,00,020 106 AAPCM981 6L Manan Sharecom Private L ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 132. It is also seen from evidence collected that some of the Noticees had shared chats which indicated commission/profit sharing arrangements between Guest Experts and Nirmal Kumar Soni. The same can be corroborated from the various Whatsapp chats/Telegram chats amongst certain Noticees as well as the statements of certain Noticees recorded on January 19, 2023. These have been discussed at paras 47-52. Further, certain Telegram chats between Ashish Kelkar (988XXXXX77) and Kiran Jadhav (982XXXX880) have been found, wherein it is seen that they were sharing with each other calculations forwarded by Nirmal Kumar Soni to them. Further, it is noticed that there is mention of HG (Himanshu Gupta) in such messages. One such conversation between Kiran and Ashish is provided below: Screenshot no. 16 133. Further, an analysis of the bank statements of the Noticees (including those whose trading accounts were used to execute the unfair trades) was carried out to determine if there was any fund transfer/sharing of profits between them. As seen in the preceding paragraphs [para no. 16 (e)], during the investigation period there were instances when funds we ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... met in Kolkata on Aug 06, 2022 after 11 am. 135. From the above screenshots, it is seen that there are certain messages shared between Nirmal Kumar Soni and Guest Experts which had picture of currency notes in them (highlighting the serial number of the note). Further, in the statements recorded on January 19, 2023 of Noticee Nos. 1, 11, 12, 14 and 15 (produced in the subsequent paragraph), it has been admitted by Guest Experts that they had a profit-sharing arrangement with Nirmal Kumar Soni for sharing their recommendations with Nirmal Kumar Soni prior to giving the recommendations on Zee Business. Some of the Statements also shows that the amount already paid to the Guest Experts in cash and the balance amount to be paid to them by Nirmal Kumar Soni. 136. In the statement of examination on oath of Ashish Kelkar which was recorded on January 19, 2023, the following was inter alia stated under oath: "Q40. Elaborate your association and arrangement with Nirmal Soni. A40. I used to pass on our own stock recommendations to Nirmal Soni...... I used to receive profits in cash from Nirmal Soni in Pune through his middlemen. Some of the places the cash were received by me are ..... ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 022 while approximately Rs. 1 crore is still left to be received..... 140. In the statement of examination on oath of Nirmal Kumar Soni, which was recorded on January 19, 2023, the following was stated under oath with reference to Simi Bhaumik: 141. From the above, it is seen that there was an arrangement between Nirmal Kumar Soni and Guest Experts to share the wrongful gain earned through recommendation based trades. The evidence in the form of statement further shows the arrangement entered into amongst Profit Makers and Guest Experts that profit earned through recommendation based trades would be shared among them in terms of the oral agreement. At the same time, as observed in the course of investigation Nirmal Kumar Soni, having received the information from Guest Experts, had executed trades not only in his own account but also in the accounts of Noticee Nos. 3, 4 and 5. Pursuant to the generation of profit, the same got shared among them as per their understanding. However, in the case of Noticee No. 2, it is observed that after receipt of information from Guest Experts, trades were executed in his own account. The above is illustrated in the following diagram: Illustrati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... telecast of the recommendations made by Guest Experts. Thereafter, the Noticees squared off the position (second leg of the trade) immediately around the time or after the recommendations were telecasted on the shows, thereby earning significant profits from the favourable movement in price and volume of the scrip/contract. f) The Enablers (Noticees Nos. 6 to 10) provided log-in credentials/ trading accounts/ client codes and passwords/ NEAT terminal details of broker etc. and enabled trades to be executed in the account of Noticees Nos. 3, 4 and 5 by the Noticee No. 1. g) There are sufficient evidences in the form of proximity of trades executed in the accounts of Noticees Nos. 1 to 5, to the recommendations made by Guest Experts in the shows. h) Profit earned through recommendation based trades were shared by Profit Makers with these Guest experts through cash and other non-banking channels/arrangement. 143. Hence, it is held, prima facie, that an amount of INR 7,41,29,648 calculated as per Table No. 30 and 31 is a profit which has been earned by Profit Makers from trades executed on the basis of advance receipt of non-public information of recommendations provided by Gue ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uch directions,- (a) to any person or class of persons referred to in section 12, or associated with the securities market; or (b) to any company in respect of matters specified in section 11A, as may be appropriate in the interests of investors in securities and the securities market. Explanation.-For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the power to issue directions under this section shall include and always be deemed to have been included the power to direct any person, who made profit or averted loss by indulging in any transaction or activity in contravention of the provisions of this Act or regulations made thereunder, to disgorge an amount equivalent to the wrongful gain made or loss averted by such contravention.] (2) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in sub-section (1), sub-section (4A) of section 11 and section 15-I, the Board may, by an order, for reasons to be recorded in writing, levy penalty under sections 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, 15EA, 15EB, 15F, 15G, 15H, 15HA and 15HB after holding an inquiry in the prescribed manner. Prohibition of manipulative and deceptive devices, insider trading and substantial acquisition of securities or co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e a manipulative fraudulent or an unfair trade practice if it involves any of the following:- ... (d) inducing any person for dealing in any securities for artificially inflating, depressing, maintaining or causing fluctuation in the price of securities through any means including by paying, offering or agreeing to pay or offer any money or money's worth, directly or indirectly, to any person;] ... (o) fraudulent inducement of any person by a market participant to deal in securities with the objective of enhancing his brokerage or commission or income SEBI (Research Analyst) Regulations, 2014 Regulation 2(1)(c) "associate" means an associate as defined in Securities and Exchange Board of India (Intermediaries)Regulations, 2008; Limitations on trading by research analysts. Regulation 16(2) Independent research analysts, individuals employed as research analyst by research entity or their associates shall not deal or trade in securities that the research analyst recommends or follows within thirty days before and five days after the publication of a research report. SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2014 2(1)(b) "associate" means any person controlled, direc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ned and demonstrated with evidence that how Noticees have, prima facie, devised/employed a scheme where Guest Experts, before making recommendations on Zee Business, communicated such information amongst each other and also with Profit Makers in advance. These Profit Makers than engage in executing first leg of trade just before the recommendation to be aired and then after recommendation has been aired, close the position with the second leg of transaction and in the process, the Profit Makers have earned profit to the tune of INR 7.41 Crore during the investigation period. This profit is, prima facie, unlawful since Noticees No 1 to 5 had got advanced information, directly or indirectly, about the impending recommendations in an unfair manner (to the detriment of general investors). They have used this advance information to make profit by trading on the basis of such advance information knowing that investors would act on the recommendations and the price and volume would move in the expected direction enabling them to make profit. It has also been shown with data as to how these recommendations had impact on price and volume of the scrip/contract being recommended, creating opp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e practice has not been defined under the regulation, various other legislations in India have defined the concept of unfair trade practice in different contexts. A clear cut generalized definition of the 'unfair trade practice' may not be possible to be culled out from the aforesaid definitions. Broadly trade practice is unfair if the conduct undermines the ethical standards and good faith dealings between parties engaged in business transactions. It is to be noted that unfair trade practices are not subject to a single definition; rather it requires adjudication on case to case basis. Whether an act or practice is unfair is to be determined by all the facts and circumstances surrounding the transaction. In the context of this regulation a trade practice may be unfair, if the conduct undermines the good faith dealings involved in the transaction. Moreover the concept of 'unfairness' appears to be broader than and includes the concept of 'deception' or 'fraud' Coupled with the above, is the fact, the said conduct can also be construed to be an act of unfair trade practice, which though not a defined expression, has to be understood comprehensively to include any a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... instances, the Hon'ble Courts have underscored the need to curb the manipulative and unfair trade practices in the securities market. In one of such cases, the Hon'ble Supreme Court, in the matter of N Narayanan vs. Adjudicating Officer, SEBI decided on April 26, 2013, while dealing with the concept of market abuse in securities market has inter alia held as follows: "Prevention of market abuse and preservation of market integrity is the hallmark of Securities Law. Section 12A read with Regulations 3 and 4 of the Regulations 2003 essentially intended to preserve 'market integrity' and to prevent 'Market abuse'. The object of the SEBI Act is to protect the interest of investors in securities and to promote the development and to regulate the securities market, so as to promote orderly, healthy growth of securities market and to promote investors protection. Securities market is based on free and open access to information, the integrity of the market is predicated on the quality and the manner on which it is made available to market. 'Market abuse' impairs economic growth and erodes investor's confidence. Market abuse refers to the use of manipulative and deceptive devices, giving ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ontravention of the provisions of the SEBI Act or rules or regulations, as discussed earlier, by Noticees. (ii) There is employment of device scheme or artifice to defraud investors, as discussed earlier, by Noticees. (iii) There is engagement in act, practice, course of business which operated as fraud or deceit upon investors in contravention of the provisions of the SEBI Act or rules or regulations, as discussed earlier, by Noticees. (iv) There is dealing in securities by Noticees Nos. 1 to 5 (Profit Makers), while in possession of material or non-public information in the form of advance information about recommendation to be made by Guest Speakers. Such non-public information has been communicated, directly or indirectly, by Noticees Nos. 11 to 15 (Guest Experts) to other Noticees Nos. 1 to 5 (Profit Makers) in contravention of the provisions of the SEBI Act or rules or regulation. The Enablers i.e. Noticees Nos. 6 to 10 have aided the Noticee No. 1 in successful execution of the above stated fraudulent and unfair trades. (v) There is dealing in securities which is fraudulent or an unfair trade practice, as discussed earlier in the trading accounts of Noticee Nos. 1 to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 2(1)(c) and Regulation 16(2) of SEBI (Research Analyst) Regulations 2014 read with Regulation 2(1)(b) of SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations 2014: 164. In addition to the above, it is observed that the Noticee No. 15 namely Simi Bhaumik, being a registered Research Analyst, falls under the purview of the RA Regulations. It has already been seen that Simi Bhaumik shared her recommendations with Partha Sarathi Dhar (registered as spouse in the AOF provided by Bank) before recommending the same on Zee Business thereby facilitating Partha Sarathi Dhar to trade based on such prior knowledge of recommendations. As can be inferred from the evidence gathered during the investigation, the trading instances of Partha Sarathi Dhar were significantly influenced by the advance information provided by Simi Bhaumik. In this regard, the provisions of Regulations 2(1)(c) and 16(2) of the SEBI (Research Analyst) Regulations, 2014 and Section 2(1)(b) of the SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008, (produced earlier at para 145) prohibit a research analyst or its associates to deal or trade in securities that the research analyst recommends or follows within thirty days before and five days after the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... owers as on date as compared to followers during the investigation period): (I) Kiran Jadhav: from 140.0K to 143.7K (II) Himanshu Gupta, from 15.7K to 19.2K (III) Mudit Goyal, from 25.3K to 25.6K (IV) Simi Bhaumik, from 26K to 25.6K 166. I note that Section 11 of the SEBI Act confers a duty on the Board to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of and to regulate the securities market. In a way all these three objects are interlinked. In order to develop the securities market, it is necessary that the interest of investors is protected. Any manipulation in the market would adversely impact the interest of investors. This would result in loss of trust of these investors in the securities market impacting market integrity. A robust securities market is important for the growth and development of the economy. Hence, it is important that market is regulated and steps taken to discourage any manipulation or wrong practice in order to protect the interest of investors as well to develop the securities market. Accordingly, to achieve the objectives of SEBI Act, SEBI has been authorised to take such measures as it things fit. Thus, the powe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cessary for investors to exercise due diligence while listening to such experts on TV or on social media. There are many orders passed by the SEBI which has highlighted how these platforms are used by some of these experts to implement fraudulent and unfair schemes like front running, pump and dump, etc. Often many investors become victim of such schemes and have lost money. Hence, investors should exercise due diligence. If any expert promises that this particular scrip/contract will definitely rise and guarantees an assured return in short time, an immediate question should come to the mind as to why the expert is not using that information quietly to make profits for himself? It should be seen by investors whether that expert is registered with SEBI as research analyst? If no, whether he is violating the law and misguiding investors? If yes, whether his advice on a particular scrip/contract is backed by research and analysis or is it just part of a fraudulent scheme? 171. At this stage, I place reliance on the order of the Hon'ble Securities Appellate Tribunal, passed in the case of Amalendu Mukherjee Vs. SEBI (Appeal (L) no. 169 of 2020), wherein the Hon'ble Tribunal has under ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is amount is arrived at based on Table no 30 where details of unlawful gains made by Profit Makers is computed separately for each of them. 174. The amount of wrongful gain for which the Noticees are jointly and severally liable, is accordingly arrived at the below table no 33. It is clarified that the Noticee mentioned at column no. 1 is jointly and severally liable for the amount of wrongful gains, mentioned at column no. 2, along with Noticees mentioned at column 3. Joint and several liabilities of Noticees mentioned at column no. 3 is restricted to the extent of the amount mentioned against their respective names in Table 30. In addition, Nirmal Kumar Soni is also held as joint and several liable for the amount along with SAAR Commodities, Manan Sharecom Private Limited and Kanhaya Trading Limited for the amount mentioned against their respective names in column no. 2. Table No. 33 Profit Maker (1) Amount of wrongful gains (INR)(2) Entities jointly and severally liable for wrongful gains along with Profit Maker (3) Nirmal Kumar Soni (Noticee No. 1) 4,43,975 Ashish Kelkar (Noticee No. 12), Himanshu Gupta (Noticee No. 13), Mudit Goyal (Noticee No. 14). Partha Sarathi Dha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or at the expiry of such contracts, whichever is earlier. Noticees are permitted to settle the pay-in and pay-out obligations in respect of transactions, if any, which have taken place before the close of trading on the date of this order. c) The said Noticee Nos. 11 to 15 shall preserve the records of their various social media accounts maintained by them, directly or indirectly, till further directions. d) An amount of INR 7,41,29,648/-, being the total unlawful gain earned from the alleged fraudulent and unfair activities is impounded, jointly and severally from Noticee as mentioned in the table 33 above. e) Noticees mentioned in the table no 33 above (1 to 5 and 11 to 15) are directed to credit/deposit jointly/ severally the aforesaid amount of unlawful gains to an interest bearing Escrow Account created specifically for the purpose in a Nationalized Bank and deposit within 15 days from the date of service of this order. The above Noticees shall create Escrow Account(s) with Lien in favour of SEBI and the amount kept therein shall not be released without permission from SEBI. f) Banks, where the Noticees (1 to 5 and 11 to 15) are holding Bank accounts are directed to e ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities for an appropriate period. c) Directing the registered RAs to refrain from undertaking any activity relating to research advisory. 177. Noticees Nos. 1 to 5 and 11 to 15 are further called upon to show cause as to why appropriate penalty under Section 11B(2) and 11(4A) read with Section 15HA of SEBI Act, 1992 should not be imposed on them for the alleged violations of SEBI Act, 1992 and PFUTP Regulations, as the case may be. 178. The Noticee No. 15 is further called upon to show cause as to why appropriate penalty under Section 11B (2) and 11(4A) read with Section 15HB of the SEBI Act, 1992 read with SEBI (Procedure for Holding Inquiry and Imposing Penalties) Rules, 2005 should not be imposed on her for the aforementioned alleged violations of the SEBI (Research Analyst) Regulations, 2014. 179. Noticees Nos. 6 to 10 are called upon to show cause as to why appropriate suitable directions, including debarring them from associating themselves with the Securities Market, in any manner whatsoever, should not be issued/imposed against them under sections 11(1), 11(4), and 11B(1) of the SEBI Act, 1992. These Noticees are further called ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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