New Delhi. Mukesh Ambani’s company Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will have to pay a fine of Rs 30 lakh. The Supreme Court has refused to give relief to RIL. This matter is related to the deal between Jio Platforms Limited and Facebook. SEBI had accused RIL of failing to promptly and transparently disseminate information related to Facebook’s investment in Jio Platforms Limited. In this regard, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) had imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on two compliance officers of Reliance. This order was challenged in the Supreme Court.
The bench of Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has rejected RIL’s petition and refused to interfere with the SAT order. According to SEBI, talks for a deal between Reliance Industries Limited and Facebook began in late 2019 and continued till early 2020. This was then concluded with a non-binding term sheet followed by active due diligence in March 2020, details of which were published in the international media in March 2020.
According to SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) when details of the proposed deal came to the media during the UPSI period, RIL should have immediately provided clear information under Principle 4 of Schedule A to ensure equal access to material facts to all investors. According to SEBI the company did not do this. Responding to SEBI’s allegations, RIL had said that at that time, SEBI had discretion under Regulation 30(11) of the LODR Regulations which governs the verification of market rumors. The company was under no obligation to confirm or deny reports unless directed by stock exchanges, so there was no need to provide an immediate disclaimer in this case.
