Sebi to pull up errant registrars

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman G N Bajpai today said the registrars of the recently-concluded public issues will be penalised if they were found mishandling issues.

Bajpai told Business Standard, " I don't want to comment specifically on the performance of any particular registrar. But I can tell you that if their performance was not up to the mark, they will be penalised."

The Sebi chief could not recall the exact time limit by which an investor was supposed to get the allotment, or the refund. But he added that a violation of the norms will "definitely" attract penalty.

A furore was created when some registrars failed to manage a handful of issues, particularly those introduced by the government.

MCS Ltd was the subject of most intense criticism after it misallotted shares to investors who applied for the ONGC issue and later withdrew a portion of the allotment from their demat accounts.