Sebi rejects three settlement pleas

Regulator Sebi has turned down three consent applications by entities seeking settlement of proceedings against them with regard to the allegations of violations of securities market norms.

In its latest update, for the period December 2014-March 2015, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has rejected settlement pleas of Umesh Purshottam Chamdia, Sankalp Share Brokers and Darshan Desai.

Desai has been accused of violating 'Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices' norms in the matter of Pyramid Saimira Theatre Limited.

Sankalp Share Brokers has been accused of violating stock brokers' norm, while while Umesh Purshottam Chamdia has violated disclosure rules.

Last year, Sebi rejected at least 40 applications by various entities for settlement of charges.

Under the consent mechanism, the entities facing Sebi proceedings can seek settlement of the case after payment of certain charges, along with legal and administrative fees, without admission or denial of guilt.

The mechanism was put in place since the fiscal year 2007-08, but Sebi overhauled its consent regulations in May 2012 by making it tougher for cases of serious violations to be settled through this route. The rules went through further changes in 2014.

In January 2014, Sebi had issued the final norms governing consent settlement under which entities charged with serious offences like illegal money pooling, insider trading and fraudulent trades will not be able to settle these cases with the capital market watchdog.