Sammaan Capital shares fell 13% on November 19 as Supreme Court reportedly questioned "friendly approach" by the Central Bureau of Investigation in probe of alleged irregularities at the NBFC.
The apex court was hearing a plea by Citizens Whistle Blower Forum, seeking a probe into alleged irregularities by the company's promoters, including round-tripping of capital, violations of provisions of The Companies Act, and siphoning of funds, said news reports.
On November 19, Sammaan Capital shares on NSE closed trading 13.3% lower at Rs 158.4 apiece.
Supreme Court flagged Securities and Exchange Board of India's reluctance and called out its "double standards" and granted the market regulator jurisdiction to investigate, reported CNBC-TV18.
The bench of Justice Surya Kant, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N K Singh has directed CBI to file FIR, saying it will aid the Enforcement Directorate, the channel added.
The Supreme Court asked senior officers of the CBI, ED, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and the SEBI to convene a joint meeting within two weeks to "objectively" examine the issues of "irregularities" raised by the petitioner against Sammaan Capital Ltd, the channel reported.
The Enforcement Directorate made complaints to Economic Offences Wing, Delhi and Mumbai, but no cognizance thereof has been taken, noted the court. The court will hear the case next on December 17, reported CNBC-TV18.
Sammaan Capital said none of the allegations in the petition have been substantiated. "We are professionally-run with LIC and Blackrock being largest shareholders," the NBFC told CNBC-TV18.
Erstwhile promoter Sameer Gehlaut had exited company in 2022-23 and is not a shareholder, said Sammaan Capital.
“Sammaan Capital is a publicly listed company with no defaults, no outstanding dues, and no investigations or proceedings pending before any regulatory or enforcement agency, including SEBI, RBI, MCA, or the CBI. This position was earlier placed before the High Court as well, where all regulators had already given a clean chit. The present petition before the Supreme Court does not contain any allegation against Sammaan Capital. The Court has referred to concerns raised about the previous promoter, Mr. Sameer Gehlaut, who has no shareholding or involvement in the company today. The Court has clarified in its order that it has made no observations on the merits of these allegations and has merely permitted the authorities to re-examine the matter," said Mukul Rohatgi, senior advocate and counsel for Sammaan Capital.
"We have no objection to this process. Since there is no allegation from any authority against Sammaan Capital, we are fully open to any inquiry the agencies may wish to conduct — once, twice, or even thrice. We have nothing to hide. The matter will next be taken up on 17th December, 2025 by which time we expect full clarity," added Rohatgi.
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