SEBI delays action on Subhash Chandra summons case in Bombay HC

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has informed the Bombay High Court that it will refrain from taking action for three weeks regarding the summons served to Zee Entertainment Enterprises' Subhash Chandra in a suspected fund diversion case. Chandra had raised objections to the language of the summons, suggesting they presumed guilt before evidence was presented. The court granted SEBI two weeks to respond and postponed the hearing for three weeks.

Previously, SEBI had issued several summons to Chandra regarding the alleged fund diversion case but received no response. Chandra's petition argued that the language used in the summons implied a preconceived guilt, undermining due process. His legal representative argued that the summons, purportedly for document production, effectively functioned as a show cause notice.

Chandra also sought the court's intervention to declare the ongoing investigation by SEBI as biased and flawed. He urged the court to prevent SEBI from issuing a final investigative report. Additionally, Chandra has appealed to the Securities Appellate Tribunal against SEBI’s order from August 2023, which barred him from holding key managerial positions in his group companies until the investigation concludes.