SAT asks Dish TV to file reply by March 20

A bench headed by Justice Tarun Agrawal said, “We direct the appellant to file his reply by March 20, after the whole-time member of SEBI passes appropriate orders in the matter, the matter has been disposed of accordingly.”

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its March 7 order had directed the company to disclose its voting results within 24 hours.

Advocate Pradeep Sancheti, representing Dish TV, argued that the company had complied with SEBI’s direction to comply with the order within 24 hours, but the company was “compelled to do so”.

He informed the tribunal that the company was not disclosing the results as the proposals were not to be made public as per the Companies Act.

Sancheti, in his appeal, also sought a stay on the observations made by Sebi against promoters and directors, which he said were likely to affect other cases pending before the High Court and various fora like NCLT.

However, SAT dismissed the appeal saying it did not find any reason to bar such remarks.

In reference to Dish TV’s other appeals, Zal Andhyarujina said the BSE and NSE had imposed fines of Rs 10,000 and Rs 11,000 for non-compliance with the results, and the company was seeking to set aside these penalties passed by the exchange.

To this, SAT directed that Dish TV should deposit the said fine and file an application for waiver of penalty and thereafter the exchanges should pass appropriate orders in the matter. Sebi on Monday sent a show-cause notice to the company’s directors, asking why the outcome of the meeting was still not out despite repeated warnings from the regulator.

The satellite television service provider did not disclose the results of the annual general meeting, citing a pending matter in the Bombay High Court. Financial creditors led by Yes Bank, which holds a 45% stake in Dish TV, are said to have voted to oust the current directors and promoter, Jawahar Lal Goyal.

SEBI had asked the depositories to freeze the demat accounts of directors and compliance officers of the company immediately till the voting results of the AGM held last year are disclosed on the stock exchanges or till further orders. Both BSE and NSE clarified that such accounts have already been de-frozen by the exchanges.