SAT asks Sebi to file reply to Punit Goenka appeal by Sept 4
Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Wednesday directed the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to file its response by September 4 in an appeal filed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises promoter Punit Goenka against an order of the regulator.
The tribunal also scheduled for September 8 the hearing of Goenka's plea, challenging Sebi's confirmatory order barring him from holding any directorship or managerial position in any listed company or their subsidiaries.
Goenka, who is the MD and CEO of Zee, approached the appellate tribunal through law firm Economic Laws Practice. He has submitted that Sebi's order be set aside.
A division bench of Justice Tarun Agarwala and technical member Meera Swarup, while allowing Sebi to file its response, observed that it was not satisfied with the regulator's timeline of eight months to complete the probe against alleged wrongdoings by the Zee promoters.
The bench also referred to the merger deal between Zee and Culver Max Entertainment (Sony) that has received all the requisite approvals, including from the National Company Law Tribunal, Competition Commission of India and stock exchanges.
«The merger has happened with the consensus of the shareholders.
There is a public interest involved. If the public says he should be the director, then it does have a bearing,» the tribunal observed in its oral remarks.
Before this, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Goenka, argued that Goenka was a director since 2010 and no public interest would be prejudiced if he is made a director.
