SAT grants temporary relief to Arshad Warsi, wife Maria Goretti against SEBI ban

The Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Monday granted interim relief to actor Arshad Warsi and his wife Maria Goretti Warsi stating that Securities and Exchange Board of India did not consider essential facts while passing the order. On Monday, the tribunal said that there is no evidence to prove that the trio were involved in a scheme to push up the stock price and then induce unsuspecting investors. 

“… there is no iota of evidence against the appellants to show that they were engaged in a coordinated scheme to induce unsuspecting investors to acquire securities in the scrip in question,” stated the SAT order. “There is no evidence to show that the trades made by the appellants led to the increase in the price of the scrip. There is no evidence to show that the sale of the shares by the appellants was made to gullible unsuspecting investors. There is no evidence to show that the appellants were involved in the making, distribution, promotion and uploading of the videos on YouTube channels,” added the SAT order. “… the direction issued by the WTM (whole time member) against the appellants in appeal… is also harsh and unwarranted and cannot be sustained,’ it noted. 

On March 2, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) barred 45 entities, including Warsi and Goretti, from the securities market in cases related to alleged manipulation in the share prices of Sadhna Broadcast and Sharpline Broadcast through misleading videos on YouTube. In addition to the market ban, the regulator had directed impounding illegal gains totaling Rs 54 crore made by the entities.