The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on July 10 dismissed the appeals by Zee promoters to lift SEBI’s ban on them holding directorships or key managerial positions in listed companies. The Tribunal said, “In the absence of any evidence being filed by the appellants before us… we do not find any reason to interfere in the impugned order (passed by SEBI) at this stage.”
It asked Zee founder Subhash Chandra and his son, Punit Goenka, managing director of the company, to defend themselves before the markets regulator. “We dispose of the appeals directing the appellants to file a reply along with a stay-vacating application to SEBI’s order within two weeks from today,” SAT said. It simultaneously asked SEBI to set a date for hearing within a week, and pass a final order by the middle of next month.
SEBI had restrained the two Zee tops from occupying any key positions in any listed company or its subsidiaries for allegedly diverting funds from Zee to firms controlled by them.