Tue Mar 04 07:05:12 UTC 2025: ## Bombay High Court Stays Case Against Former SEBI Chief Madhabi Puri Buch

**Mumbai, India** – The Bombay High Court has temporarily halted a lower court’s order to file a police case against former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief Madhabi Puri Buch and five others. The case, stemming from a 1994 complaint alleging market fraud and regulatory violations related to a company listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), was stayed for four weeks.

Justice Shivkumar Dige criticized the lower court’s order as “mechanically” issued without proper examination of the accusations or assigning specific roles to the accused. The High Court granted a four-week extension to the complainant, Sapan Shrivastava, to respond to the petitions filed by Ms. Buch, three SEBI directors (Ashwani Bhatia, Ananth Narayan, and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney), BSE Managing Director and CEO Ramamurthy, and former BSE chairman Pramod Agarwal.

These individuals sought the quashing of the lower court’s order, which directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to launch a police investigation based on the reporter’s complaint. The lower court had cited *prima facie* evidence of regulatory lapses and collusion, deeming an investigation necessary.

The High Court’s decision follows an urgent hearing requested on Monday. The Solicitor-General, Tushar Mehta, representing the SEBI directors, and lawyers for Ms. Buch and the BSE officials argued the lower court order was flawed and lacked jurisdiction. SEBI, which had previously stated it would challenge the lower court’s order, maintains its commitment to regulatory compliance. The BSE also dismissed the complaint as frivolous and vexatious. The complainant has a history of filing similar cases, some of which have been dismissed with costs awarded against him.

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