SEBI Interim Order Against Prrsaar and Chaubara for Cross-Segment Price Manipulation

Authority: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Whole Time Member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney

Order Date: September 16, 2026

Case Overview

SEBI has issued an ex-parte interim order against Prrsaar Sampada Private Limited (formerly Prrsaar Commodities Private Limited) and Chaubara Eats Private Limited, along with their directors, for cross-segment price manipulation in stock derivatives. The investigation revealed systematic manipulation where both entities made abnormally high profits in stock options while incurring losses in stock futures through coordinated trading activities.

Key Findings

The examination period covered October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, with the following findings:

Trading Pattern Analysis:

  • Entities selected low market capitalization stocks (bottom 100 scrips) for manipulation
  • Placed huge orders in near ATM stock options contracts concentrated on one side
  • Executed aggressive trades in stock futures segments in opposite sentiment direction
  • Artificially influenced futures prices through aggressive buying above LTP or selling below LTP
  • Benefited from price impact on options positions due to futures-options interlinkage

Financial Impact:

  • Prrsaar's monthly average GTV increased by ~300% during examination period
  • Chaubara's monthly average GTV increased by ~290% during its active period
  • Prrsaar made net profit of ₹11.7 crore (₹56.75 crore in options) during Oct 2025-Feb 2026
  • Chaubara made net profit of ₹0.83 crore (₹18.74 crore in options) during Mar 2026-Jun 2026
  • Total wrongful gains identified: ₹28.12 crore (₹22.06 crore by Prrsaar, ₹6.06 crore by Chaubara) from 23 scrip days

Specific Trading Activities:

Chaubara executed extensive options trading on Jio Financial Services (JIOFIN), Swiggy (SWIGGY), and Macrotech Developers (LODHA) with strike prices ranging from ₹245 to ₹940 for June 2026 expiration:

  • June 15, 2026: Jio Financial options trading generated profits of ₹3.00 lakh (CE 245), ₹2.64 lakh (PE 245), and ₹11.35 lakh (PE 250)
  • June 16, 2026: Swiggy options across multiple strike prices generated total profits exceeding ₹60.98 lakh
  • June 17, 2026: Macrotech Developers options trading generated profits across various strike prices

Regulatory Violations

SEBI prima facie finds violations of:

  • Sections 12A(a), (b), and (c) of the SEBI Act, 1992
  • Regulations 3(a), (b), (c), (d), 4(1), 4(2)(a), (b), and (e) of PFUTP Regulations, 2003

Interim Directions

1. Impounding of wrongful gains jointly and severally:

  • ₹22,06,44,706 from Prrsaar and its directors Ved Prakash Gupta and Priti Gupta
  • ₹6,05,63,836 from Chaubara and its directors Saroj Gupta and Gaurav Tomar

2. Restraint from accessing securities markets (for proprietary accounts)

3. Restrictions on bank and demat accounts (no debits without SEBI permission)

4. Prohibition on disposal or alienation of assets

5. Requirement to provide full inventory of all assets within 15 days

6. Permission to close existing open derivative positions within 3 months

7. Detailed investigation ordered to be completed expeditiously

Noticees may file replies/objections within 21 days and request personal hearing.

Topics: Derivatives Manipulation, Cross-Segment Trading, Regulatory Enforcement, Options Trading Abuse