Appeal No. 16/2004
Date of Hearing
17.3.2004
Date of decision
8.4.2004
In the matter of:
Jatin H. Shah
Appellant himself
Versus
Securities & Exchange Board
of India
IBDI Bank Ltd.
DSP Meryll Lynch Ltd.
S.R. Batliboi & Co.
Sandhya Iyer, Advocate
Somasekhar Sundaresan, Advocate
None
Coram:
Dr. B. Samal, Member
N.L. Lakhanpal, Member
Per: N.L. Lakhanpal, Member
1. This is an appeal against the letter dated 16th December 2003 addressed by the respondent no. 1, SEBI to the appellant in response to the appellants’ numerous letters to SEBI regarding the rights issue of IDBI Bank Ltd. It seems that the appellant had been contending that the IDBI Bank Ltd. had not disclosed full facts relating to that bank’s litigation with the appellant. On the date of hearing, the Ld. Counsel for the respondents, Securities & Exchange Board of India, IDBI Bank Ltd., DSP Merill Lynch Ltd. and S.R. Batliboi & Co., raised questions regarding the locus standi of the appellant for filing this appeal as also the maintainability of the appeal. During the arguments, it came out that the appellant had bought about 10 shares before the rights issue just to be able to start and prolong this litigation against the IDBI Bank Ltd. which had initiated recovery proceedings against him. Even on the substantive issue of disclosure of full facts the Ld. Counsel for the respondents drew our attention to the various places at which the bank’s litigation with the appellant had been specifically mentioned in the documents relating to the rights issue.
2. In the circumstances, we have no hesitation in dismissing the appeal as vexatious and malafide as well as on substance. The appeal accordingly stands so dismissed with costs.
N.L. Lakhanpal
Place: Mumbai
Date: 8.4.2004
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