Par panel questions Sebi chief on NSE case, Patanjali-owned Ruchi Soya’s follow on offer

The meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on finance, chaired by former minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha, lasted for more than two-and-a-half-hours, in which queries were also raised on cryptocurrencies, sources in the panel said.

Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Tuesday appeared before a parliamentary panel and was questioned on the NSE controversy, Sahara case and share offers of Paytm and Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali group’s Ruchi Soya, sources said.

The meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on finance, chaired by former minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha, lasted for more than two-and-a-half-hours, in which queries were also raised on cryptocurrencies, sources in the panel said.

The committee had called Buch to deliberate upon regulatory issues related to initial public offerings, International Financial Services Centres and alternate investment fund, according to a notice issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Earlier in the day, the newly-appointed Sebi chief was also questioned by the parliamentary committee on petitions on the progress made till date in refunding money to investors of Pulse Agro Corporation Limited (PACL).

In December 2015, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had ordered the attachment of all assets of PACL and its nine promoters and directors for their failure to refund the money that was due to investors.

Members asked a number of questions about the investigation being done by Sebi in the NSE fiasco in which several of the bourse’s top officials, including former chief executive officers Chitra Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain, are being investigated, the sources said.

Several members also asked questions about the follow on public offer (FPO) of Ruchi Soya, Paytm IPO and money related to Sahara case lying with the capital markets regulator.

Sebi, on March 28, had asked bankers of Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali group’s Ruchi Soya to give an option to investors in its FPO to withdraw their bids. In case of Paytm, its shares have tanked after its mega initial public offer (IPO).

This was the second meeting of Sebi officials with the parliamentary panel since March 30.