The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has upheld Sebi's order against Jay Bharat Fabrics Mills in a case related to non-redressal of investor grievances.
In March, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had slapped a penalty of Rs 3 lakh on the Gujarat-based company for not obtaining registration with market regulator's online complaint redressal system, SCORES, as well as for failure to resolve pending investor grievances.
Jay Bharat had approached SAT, challenging Sebi's rulings on the ground that it is a sick company and is going through rehabilitation process under the supervision of Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR).
"Various aspects, including the sickness of the company and its poor financial health, have already been taken into consideration by the learned adjudicating officer while imposing a token penalty of Rs 3 lakh," SAT said in a order dated June 11.
As per norms, the penalty for non-redressal of investor grievances can go up to Rs 1 crore.
The order also said, among others, only when Sebi imposed a penalty of Rs 3 lakh that Jay Bharat has resolved the investor complaints on April 16, 2014.
