The Bombay High Court has postponed the hearing of an appeal related to an insider-trading case of Reliance Industries (RIL) after it was brought to the court’s notice that the matter is pending before the Delhi High Court.
The bench comprising Justice SJ Vazifdar and Justice Mridula Bhatkar kept the case in abeyance after senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas, appearing on behalf of RIL, said the Delhi HC is hearing the matter and the next hearing date is scheduled for January 30.
The court’s observation came while hearing an ongoing legal fight between the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and RTI activist and lawyer Arun Agrawal, who wants the regulator to disclose names of those entities that are involved in RIL insider trading case. Incidentally, RIL has already been made a party to the case.
Sebi has challenged an order passed by the chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra directing the regulator to disclose the names of entities involved in the RIL insider trading matter wherein the company is alleged to have made unlawful gains of around R500 crore. The CIC direction came following an appeal filed by Agrawal.
Interestingly, an earlier bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AA Sayed of the Bombay HC had refused to postpone the hearing of the case when RIL counsel had argued that Delhi HC is already hearing the matter.
