Ex-SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch, 5 others move Bombay HC against stock market ‘fraud’ FIR

Former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Madhabi Puri Buch, along with five others on Monday moved the Bombay high court, seeking to quash the recent order of a special court directing an FIR against them for alleged stock market fraud.

The Bombay high court will be hearing their pleas on March 4, 2025, news agency PTI reported.

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) meanwhile has been asked to not act on the special court order until then.

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What is the case about?

An Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court judge, Shashikant Eknathrao directed the ACB to register an FIR against former SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five other officials, alleging stock market fraud and regulatory violations.

The court said that it will monitor the probe and also sought a status report within 30 days.

The other officials apart from Buch include Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sundararaman Ramamurthy, its then chairman and public interest director Pramod Agarwal and three whole time SEBI members including Ashwani Bhatia, Ananth Narayan G and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney.

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Another PTI report quoted SEBI as saying in its statement that it “would be initiating appropriate legal steps to challenge this order and remains committed to ensuring due regulatory compliance in all matters.”

Meanwhile, the BSE’s statement termed the application as “frivolous and vexatious in nature.”