The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has quashed the order of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) banning Kishore Biyani, the chairperson of Future Retail, along with certain other promoters, from the securities market for a period of one year in an insider trading case. SAT dismissed Sebi’s order and stated that the entities did not trade in the shares of Future Retail on the basis of unpublished price sensitive information relating to demerger. SAT further added that such information was already in the public domain through multiple media reports. The tribunal comprising presiding officer Tarun Agarwala and technical member Meera Swarup stated, “We are satisfied that the information relating to de-merger was already in the public domain and, therefore, trading done by the appellants in the shares after the publication of the interviews and news reports cannot be considered as trading while in possession of unpublished price sensitive information. Thus, the charge in the show cause notice fails and the findings given by the WTM (whole time member) cannot be sustained. The impugned order is quashed.” SAT also noted that both the whole time member (WTM) and the adjudicating officer of Sebi accepted that if the transaction is in the public domain through newspaper reports or interviews, then trading based on such information cannot be treated as unpublished price sensitive information.

The ruling comes after the entities challenged an order passed by Sebi in February 2021, which had barred Kishore Biyani and certain other promoters of Future Retail from the securities market for one year for indulging in insider trading in the shares of the company. Sebi had also imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore each on Biyani, Anil Biyani, and Future Corporate Resources.