NDTV To File Appeal In Supreme Court Against Securities Appellate Tribunal’s ‘Incorrect’ Order On Disclosures
[ By Bobby Anthony ]Television news broadcaster NDTV plans to file an appeal at the Supreme Court against what the company has claimed is an “incorrect” order by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), according to an official statement.Earlier, SAT had upheld the SEBI’s decision to impose a Rs 2- crore penalty on NDTV in a case of disclosure lapses regarding a tax demand of Rs...
Television news broadcaster NDTV plans to file an appeal at the Supreme Court against what the company has claimed is an “incorrect” order by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), according to an official statement.
Earlier, SAT had upheld the SEBI’s decision to impose a Rs 2- crore penalty on NDTV in a case of disclosure lapses regarding a tax demand of Rs 450 crore.
The SAT also upheld a Rs 19-lakh penalty imposed by SEBI on the company as well as three officials, including its promoters Pranoy Roy and Radhika Roy.
The SAT had ruled that the Rs 2-lakh fine imposed on the firm's compliance officer, Anoop Singh Juneja, for violating the listing agreement was unjustified.
According to the SAT order, Juneja was liable to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh for violating norms pertaining to code of corporate disclosures practices under insider trading norms.
However, NDTV has maintained that it had diligently followed all procedures and requirements as well as made full disclosures regarding what it claims was “a false tax demand” served against the company for “a proper and legitimate investment” of USD 150 million by NBC, a leading American TV network.
The broadcaster has claimed that a Rs 450-crore tax demand made in 2014 was “outrageous and mischievous”.
NDTV stated that the investment was disclosed by it both in India and in the USA by NBC's parent company, General Electric, at the time, in keeping with all regulations and processes.
The broadcaster stated that to call the legitimate and publicly-declared investment by NBC a “sham transaction” was and remains a travesty of the truth as well as a “ludicrous allegation”.
NDTV claimed that the false allegation that it withheld information has been made by a shareholder who demanded money from the company on several occasions for withdrawing these false complaints.
NDTV also claimed that that the shareholder has filed multiple false and malicious cases against it as part of a lengthy and vicious campaign.