Supreme Court - Daily Orders
Subrata Bhattacharya vs Securities And Exchange Board Of India on 17 December, 2019
Bench: D.Y. Chandrachud, Hrishikesh Roy
1
ITEM NO.1 COURT NO.8 SECTION XVII
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Civil Appeal No(s).13301/2015
SUBRATA BHATTACHARYA Appellant(s)
VERSUS
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA & ORS. Respondent(s)
(WITH IA No. 132600/2017 - APPLICATION ON BEHALF OF THE SEBI
IA No. 77018/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 140630/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 75467/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 107494/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 186866/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 183800/2018 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 186190/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 79973/2017 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 179807/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 105681/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 167787/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 20915/2018 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 151770/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 119302/2018 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 19984/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 91824/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 132726/2017 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 15874/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 69580/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 185594/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 107605/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 151745/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 138756/2017 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 66973/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 94381/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 117057/2017 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 136095/2017 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 50068/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 183794/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 44407/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 147818/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 78094/2017 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 83071/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
Signature Not Verified
IA No. 80826/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
Digitally signed by
SANJAY KUMAR
Date: 2019.12.18
IA No. 128401/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
20:11:00 IST
Reason:
IA No. 144452/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 151756/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 14/2016 - Directions
IA No. 10/2016 - Directions
2
IA No. 1/2015 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT
IA No. 147819/2019 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T.
IA No. 19986/2019 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T.
IA No. 16558/2017 - I/A FOR DIRECTION
IA No. 4/2016 - Impleadment
IA No. 9/2016 - Impleadment
IA No. 7/2016 - IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 6/2016 - Impleadment
IA No. 22/2017 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 19/2016 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 132717/2017 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 188496/2019 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 66425/2019 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 12/2016 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 119292/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 19983/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 151752/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 15872/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 69574/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 94385/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 185590/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 151743/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 138753/2017 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 86666/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 63110/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 86663/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 136075/2017 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 50063/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 44406/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 147816/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 78092/2017 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 105676/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 134999/2017 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 20912/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 80824/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 144439/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 3/2016 - PERMISSION TO FILE ANNEXURES
IA No. 135012/2017 - PERMISSION TO FILE APPLICATION FOR DIRECTION
IA No. 106305/2019 - RECALLING THE COURTS ORDER
IA No. 106299/2019 - RESTORATION
IA No. 2/2015 - STAY APPLICATION
IA No. 50070/2018 - STAY APPLICATION
IA No. 183793/2018 - STAY APPLICATION)
WITH
W.P.(C) No. 500/2015 (X)
(WITH IA No. 104215/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS)
C.A. No. 13319/2015 (XVII)
(WITH IA No. 49815/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 120905/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 120890/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 120882/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
3
IA No. 5/2016 - directions
IA No. 6/2016 - Directions
IA No. 2/2015 - EX-PARTE STAY
IA No. 1/2015 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT
IA No. 49813/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 3/2015 - PERMISSION TO FILE ANNEXURES)
C.A. No. 13394/2015 (XVII)
(IA No. 13/2016 - Additional facts and documents
IA No. 140928/2018 - APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION
IA No. 67404/2018 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 2637/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 2633/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 188948/2019 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 24485/2018 - APPROPRIATE ORDERS/DIRECTIONS
IA No. 25070/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 23892/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 88986/2018 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 23104/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 14/2016 - directions
IA No. 188918/2019 - DISCHARGE OF ADVOCATE ON RECORD
IA No. 3/2015 - Impleadment
IA No. 5/2016 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 67399/2018 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 2636/2019 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 2632/2019 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 24482/2018 - INTERVENTION APPLICATION
IA No. 902/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 13587/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 23888/2019 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 88984/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT
IA No. 2/2015 - PERMISSION TO FILE ANNEXURES
IA No. 6/2015 - STAY APPLICATION
IA No. 24487/2018 - STAY APPLICATION)
C.A. No. 13410/2015 (XVII)
(IA No. 131617/2017 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 2/2015 - EX-PARTE STAY
IA No. 1/2015 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT)
T.C.(C) No. 134/2015 (XVI-A)
W.P.(C) No. 640/2016 (X)
(IA No. 110474/2019 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 102672/2017 - CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION
IA No. 107462/2017 - PERMISSION TO FILE APPLICATION FOR DIRECTION)
W.P.(C) No. 613/2016 (X)
T.C.(C) No. 31/2016 (XVI-A)
T.C.(Crl.) No. 1/2016 (XVI-A)
4
T.C.(Crl.) No. 2/2016 (XVI-A)
T.C.(Crl.) No. 3/2016 (XVI-A)
T.C.(C) No. 30/2016 (XVI-A)
W.P.(C) No. 1330/2018 (X)
SLP(C) No. 31585/2018 (XIV)
(IA No. 171780/2018 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED
JUDGMENT, IA No. 184155/2018 - INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT)
T.P.(C) No. 1915/2019 (XVI-A)
(IA No. 114159/2019 - STAY APPLICATION)
T.P.(C) No. 1947/2019 (XVI-A)
(IA No. 116052/2019 - STAY APPLICATION)
T.P.(C) No. 1951/2019 (XVI-A)
(IA No. 116277/2019 - STAY APPLICATION)
Date : 17-12-2019 These matters were called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE D.Y. CHANDRACHUD
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HRISHIKESH ROY
For Appellant(s) Mr. Shivendra Singh, AOR
Mr. Rajesh P., AOR
Mr. E. C. Agrawala, AOR
Ms. Anubha Agrawal, AOR
M/S. K J John And Co, AOR
Mr. Anjani Kumar Mishra, AOR
Mr. Nimish Chib, Adv.
Ms. Divya Chugh, Adv.
Mr. Jatin Rana, Adv.
Mr. Wajeeh Shafiq, AOR
Ms. Amita Singh Kalkal, AOR
Mr. Krishna Kumar Singh, AOR
Dr. Manish Singhvi, Sr. Adv.
Mr. D. K. Devesh, AOR
Mr. Piyush Upadhyay, Adv.
Mr. U.P. Singh, Adv.
Mr. Abhinav Raghuvanshi, Adv.
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Mr. Somiran Sharma, AOR
Mr. Hrishikesh Baruah, AOR
Mr. M.L. Lahoty, Adv.
Mr. Anchit Sripat, Adv.
Mr. Sameer Shrivastava, AOR
Mr. Vimlesh Shukla, Sr. Adv.
Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Jai A. Dehadrai, Adv.
Mr. Sidharth Arora, Adv.
Mr. Harshit Goel, Adv.
Mr. Raghumanyu Taneja, Adv.
Mr. Mohit Negi, Adv.
Mr. Sameer Shrivastava, AOR
For Respondent(s)/
applicant(s) Mr. Pratap Venugopal, Adv.
SEBI Ms. Surekha Raman, Adv.
Mr. Purushottam Kumar Jha, Adv.
Mr. Akhil Abraham Roy, Adv.
Mr. Vijay Valsan, Adv.
For M/S. K J John And Co
Ms. Shirin Khajuria, Adv.
Ms. Binu Tamta, Adv.
Mr. B. Krishna Prasad, AOR
Mr. Sanjay Jain, ASG
Mr. R. Balasubramanian, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Arijit Prasad, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Zoheb Hossain, Adv.
Mr. Pranay Ranjan, Adv.
Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Santosh Kr. Vishwakarma, Adv.
Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR
Mrs. Anil Katiyar, AOR
Mr. Dushyant Dave, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Sr. Adv.
Ms. Mithu Jain, Adv.
Mr. Jaideep Gupta, Sr. Adv.
Mr. P.S. Sudheer, Adv.
Mr. Rishi Maheshwari, Adv.
Ms. Anne Mathew, Adv.
Mr. Bharat Sood, Adv.
Ms. Shruti Jose, Adv.
Mr. Dhruv Mehta, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Anil Nag, Adv.
6
Mr. Chetan Sharma, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Manoj Nayak, Adv.
Mr. Amit Sibal, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Avishkar Singhvi, Adv.
Mr. P. N. Puri, AOR
Mr. Huzefa Ahmadi, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Ashutosh Dubey, Adv.
Mr. Neeraj Kumar Jain, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Deepak Bansal, Adv.
Mr. Roopak Bansal, Adv.
Mr. Ravi Tomar, Adv.
Mr. Rishi Kaushal, Adv.
Mr. Vinay Navare, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Abhay Pratap, Adv.
Ms. Manju Jetley, Adv.
Mr. Somiran Sharma, AOR
Mr. Aditya Singh, AOR
Mr. Gagan Gupta, AOR
Mr. Anant V. Palli, Adv.
Mr. Suren Uppal, Adv.
Mr. Aviral Kashyap, AOR
Mr. Vinod Sharma, AOR
Mr. Prashant Bhushan, AOR
Bj Law Offices
Mr. Rajinder Kumar Singh, Adv.
Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv.
Mr. S.K. Rajora, Adv.
Mr. Akhileshwar Jha, Adv.
Ms. Sandhya Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar, AOR
Mr. P.N. Mishra, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Ritesh Agrawal, AOR
Mr. Aishwarya Adlakha, Adv.
Mr. Teejas Bhatia, Adv.
Ms. Kamakshi S. Mehlwal, AOR
Mrs. Rachana Joshi Issar, AOR
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Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Dwivedi, AOR
Mr. Shantanu Kumar, AOR
Mr. Prakash Kumar Singh, AOR
Ms. Shweta Sand, Adv.
Mr. Narender Singh, Adv.
Mr. Kunal Anand, Adv.
Dr. A.K. Vasishtha, Adv.
Mr. Hetu Arora Sethi, AOR
Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR
Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AOR
Mr. Deepank Kanwar, Adv.
Ms. Shalu Sharma, AOR
Mr. P.S. Patwalia, Sr. Adv.
Mr. R.S. Hegde, Adv.
Mr. Farhat Jahan Rehmani, AOR
Mr. V.M. Prasad, Adv.
Ms. Anuradha Mutatkar, AOR
Mr. Mohit D. Ram, AOR
Ms. Pratibha Jain, AOR
Mr. Yadav Narender Singh, AOR
Mr. Abhishek Singh, AOR
Mr. Arun K. Sinha, AOR
Mr. Rajesh Tyagi, Adv.
Mr. Harsh K. Gautam, Adv.
Mr. Atishi Dipankar, AOR
Mr. Mohit Paul, AOR
Ms. Sunaina Phul, Adv.
Mr. Prashant Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Md. Shahid Anwar, AOR
Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR
Mr. Joseph Aristotle, Adv.
Ms. Priya Aristotle, AOR
Ms. Sneha, Adv.
Mr. Ratnesh Kumar Shukla, AOR
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Mr. Shivendra Singh, AOR
Mr. Anjani Kumar Mishra, AOR
Ms. Hardeep Kaur, Adv.
Mr. Rajesh Sen, Adv.
Dr. Arun K. Jha, Adv.
Mr. Sudhir Aggarwal, Adv.
Mr. Joel, AOR
Ms. Jasmine Damkewala, AOR
Mr. Shaurya Vardhan, Adv.
Ms. Vaishali Sharma, Adv.
Mrs. Shubhangi Tuli, AOR
Mr. Rajeev Kumar Bansal, AOR
Mr. Shree Pal Singh, AOR
Mr. Avadh Bihari Kaushik, AOR
Ms. Christi Jain, AOR
Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Suraj Singh Bhadauria, Adv.
Mr. Gopal Jha, AOR
Mr. Jasbir Singh Malik, Adv.
Mr. Manish Kumar Tirthpuria, Adv.
Mr. Ajay Kumar Jain, Adv.
Mr. Murari Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Animesh Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Neeraj Shekhar, Adv.
Ms. Richa Kapoor, Adv.
Mr. Kunal Anand, Adv.
Mr. G. Prakash, Adv.
Mr. Jishnu M.L., Adv.
Mrs. Priyanka Prakash, Adv.
Mrs. Beena Prakash, Adv.
Mr. T.V.S. Raghavendra Sreyas, Adv.
Ms. Gayatri Gulati Sreyas, Adv.
Mr. Sree Pal Singh, Adv.
Mr. Swarn Kumar, Adv.
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UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
I.A No. 24482, 24485 and 24487 of 2018 in Civil Appeal No. 13394 of 2015, I. A Nos. 38337 of 2019,IA No. 38345 of 2019 and IA. No. 105681 of 2019 in Civil Appeal no. 13301 of 2015 Issue notice to the State of Punjab, returnable on 22 January 2020.
Mr Pratap Venugopal, learned counsel appearing on behalf of SEBI shall also serve a copy of this order, together with relevant extracts from the Report of the Justice R M Lodha Committee filed on 14 November 2019, to the learned Standing Counsel for the State of Punjab. I.A. No.184288 of 2018 in T.C.(Crl.) No.1 of 2016 List the application on 13 January 2020. IA No.186190 of 2019 in Civil Appeal No 13301 of 2015 Mr. Pratap Venugopal, learned counsel appearing on behalf of SEBI has placed on the record a letter dated 9 December 2019 issued by the Nodal Officer-cum-Secretary to the Committee chaired by Hon’ble Mr Justice R M Lodha, former Chief Justice of India, in the matter of PACL Limited. The letter bears reference No JRMLC/PACL/AKD/PM/5802/32695/1/2019 and has been addressed to various authorities in the State of Telangana.
10
Mr P S Patwalia, learned senior counsel, states that in view of the subsequent developments which have taken place, the application has been rendered infructuous.
The application is accordingly dismissed as infructuous.
IA No. 117057 of 2017 in Civil Appeal No 13301 of 2015 The name of the applicant in this application is Mahadev Plantations and Parks Private Limited.
In the affidavit in rejoinder, which has been filed on behalf of the applicant, it has been stated that in the property bearing No MR 5768-16, the quotation submitted by the applicant was 73% over the reserve price fixed for the property. Hence, it has been submitted that necessarily the price offered by the applicant was also above the circle rate since the reserve price was fixed at 90% of the circle rate. Moreover, it has been submitted that the properties in the vicinity have been sold at 1% above the reserve price.
In regard to the remaining seven properties identified as MR Nos 19707-16, 6127-16, 6125-16, 6124-16, 6381-16, 6724-16, 6263-16, it has been submitted that Clause 2.7 of the terms and conditions required bidders to submit bids in multiples of 1% of the reserve price. The applicants are aggrieved by the fact that whereas according to them, bidders have been allotted other properties at 1% above the reserve price, the same 11 yardstick has not been applied in their case. This is sought to be illustrated in a tabular chart set out in paragraph 5 of the rejoinder.
An affidavit be filed by the SEBI clarifying the position before the Court within a period of two weeks from today.
List the application on 9 January 2020. Re: Objections to the Report of Justice R M Lodha Committee filed on 14 November 2019 During the course of the hearing, the Court has been apprised of the objections which have been raised to the Report submitted by the Committee chaired by Hon’ble Mr Justice R M Lodha, former Chief Justice of India. We have heard, among other learned counsel, Mr Jaideep Gupta, Mr. Dhruv Mehta, Mr Huzefa Ahmadi, Mr Amit Sibal, Mr Chetan Sharma, Mr M L Lahoty, Ms Anubha Agrawal, learned Senior Counsel/ Counsel for the objections.
We have heard Mr Dushyant Dave, Ms Meenakshi Arora, learned Senior Counsel on behalf of the shortlisted candidates. Mr Pratap Venugopal, learned counsel for SEBI has explained the report of the Committee. Mr Dushyant Dave, learned Senior Counsel submitted that there is an urgent need for finality to be brought to the process adopted by the Committee. He urged that a careful evaluation has been carried out by the Committee. 12 Ms Meenakshi Arora, learned Senior Counsel, in support has also submitted that there is a grave danger of the properties being encroached upon.
The data which has been submitted before the Court by the Committee indicates that in pursuance of the public notice that was issued on 23 August 2019 and notified on the website of SEBI, four bidders were shortlisted. One of the bidders, Prudent, had submitted bids for 1,126 properties. The second bidder, ARCIL, submitted bids for 3,584 properties. The third bidder, IUIH, submitted bids for 1,120 properties. This would indicate that bids have been received for a fraction of the total of 28,974 properties in respect of which the public notice was issued on 23 August 2019.
Several objections have been addressed to this Court. Among the objections is that the Committee did not lay down terms and conditions on the basis of which a transparent process of evaluating offers could take place. Before we rule on the objections, it would be appropriate if the Committee takes a considered view and places its assessment before the Court on the next date of hearing.
Having heard the objections, which appear to be of a substantive nature, we are of the view that it would be appropriate if we furnish an opportunity to SEBI to file a response on behalf of the Committee dealing with the main heads of objections so that the Court can decide 13 upon the correctness of those objections. This exercise shall be completed by 17 January 2020.
The Committee may also explore whether in the interests of broadening the field of competition, it would be desirable to furnish one more opportunity to intending offerers to submit offers, while at the same time also allowing those who have submitted offers in the initial process to revise their offers for further consideration. This would be without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the shortlisted offers which have been adverted to in the Report submitted by the Committee.
Mr Pratap Venugopal, learned counsel appearing for the SEBI, fairly submits that this Court may direct the Committee to consider further offers which may be forthcoming, but a deadline or cut off may be fixed to bring finality to the process. He further states that all the objections which have been filed shall be uploaded on the website of SEBI List the objections along with the response of the Committee on 23 January 2020.
IA Nos 167787/2019, 147818/2019, 69580/2018 List the applications tomorrow (18 December 2019).
(SANJAY KUMAR-I) (SAROJ KUMARI GAUR)
AR-CUM-PS COURT MASTER