Mumbai: Punit Goenka, former managing director & chief executive officer of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, on Friday moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), challenging a recent confirmatory order issued by the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
In its appeal before the tribunal, a senior counsel representing Goenka requested a stay on the effect and operation of the regulator’s order.
On 14 August, Sebi had in its confirmatory order restrained Punit Goenka and his father Subhash Chandra from holding any key managerial position in any listed company or Zee group entity until further orders.
These entities include Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Zee Media Corporation, Zee Studios and Zee Akaash News.
Prior to this, Sebi in a 12 June order had barred Goenka and Chandra from holding key positions in the group an alleged funds diversion case.
The order said the two were involved in schemes and transactions through which vast amounts of public money belonging to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd were diverted to private entities owned and controlled by these people.
Aggrieved by the regulator’s order Goenka approached SAT. The tribunal, however, in its verdict refused to interfere with Sebi’s order and asked it to pass a final order in the matter after giving the duo a detailed hearing.
While upholding its earlier order, Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson, Sebi, held, “I note that a detailed investigation in the matter is in progress which may bring out additional acts of omission or commission, of the entities, if any, in detail, depending on the material and after considering the facts and veracity of their submissions. The findings in the extant order are prima facie findings in a matter under investigation”.
Sebi said it would complete the investigation in the matter in a time-bound manner. Essentially, this meant eight months to complete the investigation.
In fact, Buch clarified that the duo will also not be able to hold directorship in any entity that would be resultantly formed after the proposed merger. This was in relation to ZEE’s proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment, earlier called Sony Pictures Networks India.
The NCLT cleared the merger on 10 August, thus paving the way for one of India’s largest mergers in the media and entertainment business.
SAT is likely to hear the matter on 30 August.
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Updated: 26 Aug 2023, 10:58 AM IST
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