Case Details
Entity Involved: Saachi Overseas (PAN: ABQFS9871C)
Order Details: Adjudication Order No. Order/AK/RK/2026-27/32426 dated May 29, 2026
Investigation Period: April 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015
Financial Impact: Penalty of ₹5,00,000 (Rupees Five Lakhs only) imposed
Persons Involved
- Adjudicating Officer: Amit Kapoor (final order), initially Smt. Asha Shetty
- Noticee Representative: Jogesh Bhasin (Partner) submitted initial reply; Mahesh Narayan Pabharekar (Advocate) claimed to be Authorized Representative but failed to provide authorization letter
- Counterparty: N M Impex Private Limited (involved in reversal trades with Noticee)
- Broker: JHP Securities Private Limited (through whom SCN was served)
Violations and Allegations
Summary of Violations: Noticee executed 4 non-genuine reversal trades in 1 stock options contract (ARVI15APR240.00CEW1) on BSE, creating artificial volume of 436,000 units
Regulations Cited: Violations of Regulations 3(a), (b), (c), (d), 4(1) and 4(2)(a) of SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003
Specific Trading Pattern:
- Trade Date: March 27, 2015
- First trade at 10:32:36.670898: Sell 218,000 units to N M Impex at ₹13.10/unit
- Subsequent buy trades with same counterparty:
- 10:32:41.271183: Buy 1,000 units at ₹16.70/unit
- 10:32:45.463439: Buy 1,000 units at ₹19.10/unit
- 10:33:06.664719: Buy 216,000 units at ₹22.25/unit
- Total quantity squared up: 218,000 units
- Significant price variation within short time span (30 seconds to 30 seconds between trades)
Market Impact:
- Noticee's trades constituted 26.67% of total trades in the contract
- Artificial volume generated represented 43.08% of total market volume in the contract
- Trades executed with same counterparty indicating prior meeting of minds
Penalties, Settlement Terms & Rulings
Monetary Penalty: ₹5,00,000 (Rupees Five Lakhs only) under Section 15HA of SEBI Act, 1992
Settlement Opportunities: Noticee was offered two settlement schemes but failed to avail either:
1. SEBI Settlement Scheme, 2022 (August 22, 2022 to January 21, 2023 extended period)
2. SEBI ISO Settlement Scheme, 2024 (extended till June 10, 2024)
Legal Precedents Cited:
- SEBI Vs Bhavesh Pabari (2019) SCC Online SC 294 (reasonable time for proceedings)
- SEBI v Kishore R Ajmera (AIR 2016 SC 1079) (preponderance of probabilities test)
- SEBI v Rakhi Trading Private Limited (Civil Appeal Nos. 1969, 3174-3177 and 3180 of 2011)
- Global Earth Properties and Developers Pvt Ltd (SAT judgement September 14, 2020)
Actions, Compliance and Future Obligations
Payment Deadline: Noticee must remit penalty amount within 45 days of order receipt
Payment Method: Through online payment facility on SEBI website (ENFORCEMENT > Orders > Orders of AO > PAYNOW)
Consequences of Non-payment: SEBI may initiate recovery proceedings under Section 28A of SEBI Act, 1992 including attachment and sale of movable and immovable properties with interest
Final Ruling and Enforcement
Violation Established: Noticee found guilty of executing non-genuine reversal trades creating false/misleading appearance of trading
Order Enforcement: Copy of order sent to Noticee and SEBI as per Rule 6 of SEBI Adjudication Rules
Key Findings:
- Trades showed pattern of synchronization and prior meeting of minds
- Wide price variation within short time indicated pre-determination
- Noticee's denial lacked supporting evidence (no communication with exchange/SEBI/police)
- Letters to broker produced later lacked authenticity (no stamps, no proof of delivery)
- No quantifiable disproportionate gain or investor loss established
Factors Considered: Section 15J factors applied - no quantifiable gain/loss, but repetitive nature of violation (4 trades) considered