Sebi slaps Rs 5L penalty on Pantaloon

Mumbai: Market regulator Sebi has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on retail major Pantaloon for failing to address investor grievances within the stipulated timeframe.

"After considering all the facts and circumstances of the case ... find that the noticee (Pantaloon Retail India Ltd) failed/delayed in redressing the complaints ... within the time stipulated by Sebi," the market regulator said in an order while imposing the Rs 5 lakh penalty.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had earlier identified the Kishore Biyani-promoted firm as one of the companies against whom a large number of investor grievances were pending for more than six months as on June 30 last year.

In July 2010, Sebi had asked the company to redress the complaints and submit an action taken report within 30 days. However, Pantaloon Retail failed to do so, Sebi said in the order.

The regulator had then initiated proceedings against the company.

“13 out of the 40 complaints were outstanding as on February 15, 2011," Sebi said, adding that several other complaints regarding delay in payment of dividend for 2005-06 and 2006-07 by the company were also received from an indivudual investor.

Sebi has sent a show cause notice to Pantaloon Retail in March this year and the company replied to the notice a month later.

After going through the matter, Sebi found that delays and failure had occurred in a few of the cases.

"...it is established beyond doubt that the notice delayed/failed to redress the investor grievances of complainants. The noticee, therefore, violated section 15C of Sebi Act which warrants imposition of monetary penalty under the same section of Sebi Act," the order said.

Section 15C of the Sebi act deals with imposition of penalty in case of failure to address investors complaints by listed firms.

Source: Financial Express