The Bombay High Court has directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India to disclose an exemption letter granted to ICICI Securities, exempting the firm from the reverse book building process required for delisting.
The court ruled that the market regulator must provide a copy of the letter to Aruna Vinod Modi, a shareholder of ICICI Securities, who had contested the exemption. The court, however, recorded that Modi is not permitted to share, reproduce, or allow any part of the letter to be inspected by any third party.
Modi had challenged SEBI's decision in court, arguing that the regulator had exceeded its authority by granting ICICI Securities this exemption, which she claimed violated the provisions of the delisting regulations.
Meanwhile, a case is on before the National Company Law Tribunal of New Delhi alleging that ICICI Bank influenced shareholders to support its proposal to delist its broking subsidiary, ICICI Securities, from Indian stock exchanges.
Shareholders claim that ICICI Bank employees, not the employees of ICICI Securities, contacted public shareholders, persuading them to vote in favour of the delisting. They allege that the employees created a Powerpoint presentation to influence shareholders, exploiting their lack of expertise.
A similar case was earlier filed before the NCLT in Mumbai as well.
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