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Sahara vs Court

Elegantly and firmly, the SC emerged the winner

Sixty years ago, a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan, faced an interesting predicament. How was it to deal with an instance where two senior members of the bar sought the transfer of a case from a bench on a flimsy allegation of prejudice? The high court at Nagpur, before which such a contention had been raised, had initiated suo motu contempt action against the two lawyers for having scandalised the court. The accused took the defence that they were unaware such an application could not be made and sought to justify their actions, but to no avail. Eventually, on appeals from their sentences,

the SC sustained the order of contempt but charitably permitted the purging of contempt upon unqualified apologies being tendered.

Why would this story be relevant today? Consider the fact that the two advocates in question were M.Y. Shareef, a former minister for law and justice, and B.D. Kathalay, a known legal scholar.

Last week, a host of remarkable judgments were handed down by the SC, ranging from the invalidity of the provision protecting senior government servants from CBI investigation to the validity of constitutional provisions sanctioning the RTE Act. However, the strongest riposte to critics of the SC was posted that day by Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and J.S. Khehar in slamming the misadventures of both client and counsel of Sahara in attempting to undermine the authority of the court. In a lengthy 207-page judgment, the court, with great dignity and firmness, dealt with the charges heaped against it on behalf of the beleaguered tycoon.

One of the unfortunate consequences of this litigation was that the normal courtesies of courtroom presentation were abandoned, and even the petition (which directly challenged the court?s earlier order) was finalised by not one, but five separate senior counsel of the court. As submitted by Sebi counsel Arvind Datar, this was the first petition he had seen in his entire career that had been thus settled.

Dealing with the oral submissions made by the counsel, the court reproduced in detail how Sahara?s counsel placed arguments before it. ?It seems that our determination to hear the matter marked to us by hon?ble the chief justice, was not palatable to some of the learned counsel for the petitioner,? it said, before recording that both lead counsel accused the bench of prejudice, bias and other ?insinuations?.

The court took pains to detail the demeanour of the Sahara companies, referring specifically to the repeated denial of information over two years, and the 35 dates of hearing before the SC prior to the order summoning Subrata Roy. In the course of the hearing, the bench observed, the counsel used language, ?which we had not heard (either as practising advocates or even as judges in the high courts or this court)?.

It is necessary to note that the court acknowledged the erudition and reputation of the counsel who called its conduct into question but concluded unequivocally that if the submissions were based on a false foundation, then their professional conduct would

be doubted.

However, in the wake of such overwhelming evidence against the Sahara group, and its continuing reprobate conduct, the judges laudably stood strong by their constitutional oath to say: ?If it was learned counsel?s posturing antics, aimed at bench-hunting or bench-hopping (or should we say, bench-avoiding), we would not allow that. Affronts, jibes and carefully and consciously planned snubs could not deter us from discharging our onerous responsibility. We could, at any time during the course of hearing, walk out and make way for another bench to decide the matter, if ever we felt that that would be the righteous course to follow.?

What is particularly befitting is the ?post-script? in the judgment, where the court laments how frivolous litigation and ill-considered claims take up several hours of court time, much to the loss of other genuine litigants waiting in queue. Added to this is the pressure of cases championed by bar leaders who leave no stone unturned to subvert the system. This is why a final request was made to the legislature to take steps to reduce frivolous litigation and compensate the wronged party.

If the two lead counsel who represented Sahara had read their history, they would have learnt that when a former law minister and a famous legal scholar sought to bench-hunt on ill-conceived grounds, it resulted in conviction for contempt. They are fortunate that the SC has been restrained in delivering this salutary verdict, but this act of charity should never be confused for weakness, and let all other courts follow this lead.

Gopal Sankaranarayanan

The writer is an advocate at the Supreme Court of India

Live Blog

Share Market Live: Sensex, Nifty updates, top stocks, rupee vs dollar

16:01 (IST)19 Jul 2018
7 large-cap/blue-chip shares hit all-time high

S. No.StockAll-time high (Rs)
1Reliance Industries Ltd1114
2Tata Consultancy Services Ltd2009.95
3Yes Bank Ltd393.35
4Asian Paints1408
5Bajaj Finance2535.5
6Bandhan Bank632.4
7Godrej Consumer Products1358.80

15:47 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Market stats today

Out of the total 2,727 companies traded on BSE, 830 shares ended in green, 1,747 stocks ended in red while 150 concluded unchanged on BSE. About 34 stocks hit 52-week highs while as many as 431 stocks hit their respective 52-week lows. The Reserve Bank of India fixed a rupee reference rate at 68.8331 per unit US dollar on Thursday.

15:40 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Kotak Mahindra Bank — Biggest Sensex loser today

15:38 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Closing bell

Indian stock markets closed flat on Thursday with the headline indices Sensex and Nifty finishing marginally down as heavyweight shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank, L&T, HDFC, TCS, ICICI Bank and Infosys dragged. BSE Sensex closed 22.21 points or 0.06% lower at 36,351.23 while NSE Nifty settled down 23.35 points or 0.21% at 10,957.10 on Thursday. 

15:25 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Kotak Mahindra Bank sees biggest fall in 9 months

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank fell as much as 4.6% to a day’s bottom of Rs 1,333.85 on Thursday following the Q1 FY19 earnings release. This is the lowest level in more than two weeks and the biggest percentage loss since 25 October 2017. Twenty-five of 33 brokerages rate stock “buy” or higher, 5 “hold” and 3 “sell” or lower; median PT is 1,369.50 rupees, a Reuters report said.

15:12 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Sensex 36,000: Where from now?

The benchmark Sensex index hit an intraday record high on Wednesday. According to a Reuters report, BSE Sensex has strong support at 36,278 and resistance at 36,692 levels. 

14:53 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Sensex at 36,321.29, down by 52.15 points or 0.14%: Big movers today

14:46 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Buyback u-turn impact?

The New Delhi-based jewellery maker PC Jeweller has lost 43% of its stock market value within the span of last 4 days including today. The stock of PC Jeweller has fallen by 43.3% to a multi-year low of Rs 68 from a share price level of Rs 119.95 on BSE. This is the lowest level in over 4 years. Today only, the stock made a low of Rs 68, down by 14.71%. 

14:41 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Pharma sell-off

All the constituents of Nifty Pharma index were trading in negative territory barring the share of Glenmark. The stock of Cadila Healthcare, Biocon, Cipla, Aurobindo Pharma and Lupin shed 0.7% to 3.2%. 

14:32 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Lupin gets USFDA nod for erctile dysfunction drug

The Hyderabad-headquartered drugmaker Lupin has received tentative approval from the US FDA for its Tadalafil tablets which is used to treat erectile dysfunction and prostate gland enlargement. Lupin will now be able to market Tadalafil tablets in strengths of 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg, in the US. 

14:30 (IST)19 Jul 2018
IOC, BPCL, Gautam Adani emerges as top bidders for gas licences

Government-run oil marketers IOC & BPCL and Gautam Adani’s group were the top bidders for gas retailing licences in the country’s biggest city gas distribution (CGD) bid round. Of the 86 cities offered for retailing of CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households in the 9th CGD bid round, IOC bid for 34 cities on its own and another 20 in partnership with Adani Gas Ltd, PTI reported citing Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board.

14:26 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Nifty IT index bleed

All the components of the benchmark Nifty IT index were trading in negative territory with shares of Mindtree, Tata Elxsi, KPIT, OFSS, TCS leading the losses. 

14:23 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Adani Group stocks surge up to 8%

Shares of Adani Group surged up to 8% on Thursday with the stock of Adani Power rising the most. Adani Power share rose 7.8% to Rs 22.1, Adani Enterprises rose 5.39% to Rs 149.55 while Adani Ports gained 1.47% to Rs 369.45 on BSE today. 

14:17 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Markets at lunch

13:12 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Kotak Mahindra Bank cracks 3%

Kotak Mahindra Bank shares extended the losses in the afternoon dealings following the Q1 FY19 results announcement. The stock of Kotak Mahindra Bank tumbled 3.33% to a day’s low of Rs 1,355.25 from a share price level of Rs 1,402.05. Kotak Mahindra Bank stock was the biggest loser among Sensex scrips. 

13:10 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Bharti Airtel surges 3%

Shares of Bharti Airtel rose more than 3% in the afternoon trades on Thursday to Rs 347.2 from a share price level of Rs 336.8. The stock of Bharti Airtel was the top gainer among all the components of the BSE Sensex index. 

13:03 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Kotak Mahindra Bank Q1 Results 2019: Subsidiary results

For Q1 FY19, Kotak Mahindra Bank’s contribution to the net profit was Rs 1,025 crore. Kotak Securities reported a PAT of Rs 130 crore, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance reported PAT Rs 117 crore, Kotak Mahindra Prime contributed Rs 139 crore, Kotak Mahindra Investments posted a PAT of Rs 48 crore for Q1 FY19. The domestic mutual fund management and trustee company contributed Rs 51 cr for Q1 FY19, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a statement. 

12:54 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Kotak Mahindra Bank Q1 Resutls

Uday Kotak-led Kotak Mahindra Bank on Thursday reported an increase of 17% in the consolidated net profit to Rs 1,574.48 crore from Rs 1,346.82 crore in Q1 FY18 while the net profit fell by 12% as compared to Rs 1,789.24 crore in Q4 FY18. On the assets front, gross NPA ratio as a percentage of gross advances was at 1.93% from 1.95% as at 31 March 2018 and 2.24% as at 30 June 2017. 

12:45 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Kotak Mahindra Bank Q1 Results 2019: Stock Falls over 2%

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank fell more than 2% after India’s fourth-largest private sector lender reported a rise of 17% in the consolidated net profit for the April-June period. The stock of Kotak Mahindra Bank dropped 2.3% to a day’s low of Rs 1,369.8 following the earnings release.

12:30 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Crude oil prices fall

Oil prices dropped on Thursday after official data showed an unexpected rise in US crude stockpiles and as U.S. output scaled record levels, a Reuters report said. With the latest data available, WTI crude oil was trading at $68.70, down by 0.09% per barrel and Brent crude oil was trading 0.32% lower at 72.67 a barrel, Bloomberg data showed. 

12:11 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Why is rupee falling today

Most of the Asian currencies were trading lower against the US dollar today. Asian currencies dropped against the dollar on Thursday as concerns over a tariff war between the United States and China endured, keeping investors cautious on regional trades, Reuters reported. “When you take the dollar against the euro for example, it is more or less in range trading. But Asian currencies have further weakened against the U.S dollar,” Reuters said in a report citing Sim Moh Siong, FX strategist, Bank of Singapore. 

12:06 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Markets at noon: Sensex up, Nifty down

The domestic share markets were trading mixed in the mid-morning session on Thursday with BSE Sensex trading slightly up in green while NSE Nifty was trading in the red. BSE Sensex trading at 36,404.84, up by 0.09% while NSE Nifty trading at 10,973.35, down by 0.06%. 

12:03 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Forex Check: rupee loses 24 paise against US dollar

The Indian rupee lost about 24 paise vs US dollar in the mid-morning deals at the interbank foreign exchange market on Thursday. The rupee exchange rate was at 68.8663 apiece US dollar, Bloomberg data showed. Up until now, the rupee has shuttled between the range of 68.8663 and 68.6837 against USD. 

11:48 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Infosys-BMRC MoU

“We are extremely happy to have Infosys Foundation support BMRCL’s expansion plan in Konappana Agrahara towards building a new metro station. The station is expected to be operational by 2021 and we encourage citizens of Bengaluru to fully avail the services of the metro rail and other public transportation systems. The government is extremely proud of BMRCL’s achievements till date, and would like to congratulate BMRCL and Infosys Foundation on this momentous occasion,” said H.D. Kumaraswamy, Chief Minister, Karnataka.

“The metro is among the finest infrastructure projects our city is developing, and it is a boon to thousands of commuters in the city. Infosys Foundation is proud to contribute to this metro expansion program. Once operational, it will help further ease the traffic situation in Bengaluru and encourage office-goers to embrace public transportation,” said Sudha Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation.

11:46 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Infosys-BMRC MoU

“We are extremely happy to have Infosys Foundation support BMRCL’s expansion plan in Konappana Agrahara towards building a new metro station. The station is expected to be operational by 2021 and we encourage citizens of Bengaluru to fully avail the services of the metro rail and other public transportation systems. The government is extremely proud of BMRCL’s achievements till date, and would like to congratulate BMRCL and Infosys Foundation on this momentous occasion,” said H.D. Kumaraswamy, Chief Minister, Karnataka. 

“The metro is among the finest infrastructure projects our city is developing, and it is a boon to thousands of commuters in the city. Infosys Foundation is proud to contribute to this metro expansion program. Once operational, it will help further ease the traffic situation in Bengaluru and encourage office-goers to embrace public transportation,” said Sudha Murty, Infosys Foundation Chairperson.

11:43 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Just in: Infosys Foundation signs MoU with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation

Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Infosys, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) towards the construction of a station at Konappana Agrahara, in Electronics City, Infosys said in a statement. This station is under the second phase of Bangalore Metro’s expansion plans and the Foundation has committed to maintaining this station for the next 30 years, Infosys added.  

11:40 (IST)19 Jul 2018
RBL Bank shares drop 3% on Q1 FY 19 results

Shares of RBL Bank shed as much as 3% to a day’s low of Rs 548 even after the Mumbai-based private sector lender posted a 35% rise in the standalone net profit for the quarter ended April-June to Rs 190.04 crore. Net advances grew 36% to Rs 42,198.09 crore and deposits rose 27% to Rs 44,949.59 crore YoY. On a sequential basis, gross NPA ratio reduced to 1.40% from 1.46% in Q1 FY18 while net NPA ratio eased to 0.75% from 0.81% in Q1 FY18. 

11:28 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Sensex regains momentum

11:15 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Why are mid-cap IT stocks tumbling

Shares of MindTree, Larsen & Toubro Infotech and Hexaware Tech have fallen between 4.3% and 11.5%. ‘Mid-cap IT stocks are facing valuation correction as they were trading at very high valuations compared with their historical averages,’ Reuters reported citing Sudheer Guntupalli, a technology sector analyst, Ambit Capital. 

11:13 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Zydus Cadilla receives final approval from USFDA

The Ahmedabad-based drug maker Zydus Cadila has received final approval from the US health regulator to market Piroxicam Capsules USP in the strengths of 10 mg and 20 mg, used for the treatment of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

11:00 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Market recovers partly

Indian equity markets recovered partly in the mid-morning deals with the headline indices Sensex and Nifty trading in green as shares of RIL, M&M, Axis Bank, HUL, Vedanta contributed heavily to the index gains. BSE Sensex was trdfing at 36,433.62, up by 0.17% and NSE Nifty trading up 0.01% at 10,981.1. 

10:52 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Breaking! Chinese Yuan hits 1-year low

China’s yuan fell to a one-year low against the dollar on Thursday after the official fix was set below the key 6.7 per dollar, while at the same time authorities moved to control risks of destabilising capital flows as Beijing’s trade row with the United States intensified, Reuters said in a report. China’s foreign-exchange regulator said it has to assess the impact of trade friction on capital flows and will use “counter-cyclical” measures to respond to short-term volatility, but expressed confidence Beijing can cope with any challenge, given its “ample” reserves, the report added. 

10:50 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Why is Ashok Leyland stock under pressure

“Increase in the rated load of CVs has created uncertainty and confusion among the industry participants. While this will lead to near-term weakness in volumes, clarity on this will determine severity of impact on FY19 volumes. Assuming retrospective implementation, FY19 volumes could be under severe stress as fleet’s capacity goes up overnight. FY20 story would be of two halves, with strong demand in 2HFY20 due to pre-buy ahead of BS6,” Motilal Oswal Securities said in a research report.

10:47 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Ashok Leyland: Unusuall trading volumes seen

Extremely high trading volumes were seen in the shares of Ashok Leyland. Until now, more than 7.7 crore equity shares exchanged hands on NSE alone. The stock of Ashok Leyland recovers morning losses, trading up 1.54% at Rs 112.25 on NSE. 

10:40 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Planning to invest in TCNS Clothing IPO?

TCNS Clothing IPO opens: 7 key things to know before you subscribe to Rs 1,125 crore public offer

TCNS Clothing garnered about Rs 337 crore from the anchor investors by allotting as many as 47.14 lakh equity shares at the upper end of the price band. TCNS Clothing IPO will remain open for three days starting today, 18 July till Friday, 20 July 2018. TCNS designs, manufactures, markets and retails its products within multiple brands namely — W, Aurelia and Wishful.

10:37 (IST)19 Jul 2018
35% gain opportunity: Buy Federal Bank, says Prabhudas Lilladher

Recently this week only, Federal Bank shares saw a spike of 21% intraday after the Kochi-based mid-sized lender posted 25% rise in the net profit. Shares of Federal Bank have mostly fallen in CY 2018. The research and brokerage firm Prabhudas Lilladher has given a ‘buy’ with a target price of Rs 119 which implies an upside of 35% from the current market price. 

“We believe, loan growth momentum and steady NIMs (near-term headwinds to even out over the FY) will help PPOP, while asset quality will be helped by lower stress and enhancement of PCR which should see return ratios return back to course. Retain BUY with revised TP of Rs119 (from Rs128) based on 1.9x Mar FY20E (reduced from 2.0x as we slightly tweak our COE assumptions),” Prabhudas Lilladher said in a report. 

10:26 (IST)19 Jul 2018
FIIs and DIIs are buying, but stocks are falliing?

With the latest data available with the stock exchanges, Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 111 crore and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 95.68 crore on Wednesday. 

10:23 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Telecom Industry to remain under competitive pressure

The global research and brokerage firm Jefferies remains cautious on telecom sector as it expects competitive intensity to remain high as fight for market share continues, Reuters reported. Q1 results will be muted with ARPU down between 4-7% QoQ and sub addition remaining low, Jefferies was seen as saying in a Reuters report. 

10:18 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Just Dial share price falls 3% ahead of board meet

Shares of Just Dial fell more than 3% in the morning deals on Thursday ahead of the board meeting scheduled on Friday. In tomorrow’s board meeting, Just Dial consider unaudited Q1 FY 19 results and share buyback program.

10:14 (IST)19 Jul 2018
Nifty PSU Bank swings in green!

Indian equities started the day at a positive note on Monday with BSE Sensex gaining more than 100 points and NSE Nifty retaking 11,000. On the wider stretch, the domestic markets traded under pressure on Thursday with small and mid-cap stocks facing the bearing the major brunt. The benchmark Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 were down up to 1.3%.

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First published on: 13-05-2014 at 15:55 IST
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