SC ends contempt case against SEBI in fraud case against Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries

Reliance Industries Limited, India's largest conglomerate led by Mukesh Ambani, had been accused of buying its own shares by funding 38 entities in 2020 by the Securities and Exchanges Board. The matter of this alleged violation by the oil to telecom behemoth, has reached the apex court, where the market regulator had earlier been told to provide documents related to the case and charged with contempt of court. Now the Supreme Court has closed that contempt case, after Reliance confirmed that it has received the necessary papers.

SEBI had been ordered to share copies of two legal opinions by former SC judge B.N. Srikrishna on August 5, since he had been consulted as a legal expert. The court had also directed the regulator to provide chartered accountant Y.H. Malegam's report, prepared after he examined Reliance's records.

SEBI had received a complaint about Reliance's alleged violation back in 2002. The complainant specified that RIL had allotted 120 million shares to parties linked to the promoters, fraudulently. Hence the firm and directors had violated Section 77 of the Companies Act, 1956, which restricts a company's ability to buy its own shares.

SEBI was represented in court by K.K. Venugopal who had asked for more time from the court in the last hearing. But the SC, had dismissed the SEBI's review petition in its order on October 19.