Sebi fines two individuals Rs 25 lakh in Nucleus Software insider trading case, rejects claim of ‘accidental' profit

Accordingly, Sebi levied a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Anupam Gupta and Rs 15 lakh on Nitin Kumar Garg, to be paid within 45 days.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on two individuals for suspected insider trading in the shares of Nucleus Software Exports Ltd.

According to the SEBI order dated September 23, 2025, Anupam Gupta and Nitin Kumar Garg were found guilty of violating the Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) Regulations and provisions of the SEBI Act.

The regulator held that Nitin, by virtue of his position in the company, was in possession of unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI) relating to the company’s financial results and business operations, which he communicated to Anupam. Acting on this information, Anupam traded in Nucleus Software’s shares during the UPSI period.

The order noted: “Noticees have not been able to shift the onus regarding the fact that UPSI was communicated by Nitin to Anupam and Anupam was in possession of UPSI when the trades were executed in the scrip of Nucleus during the UPSI period.”

It further said: “It is important to emphasize that no reasoning has been provided by the Noticees explaining this mysterious urgency on their part to liquidate their holdings in the scrip of Nucleus in the immediate aftermath of the disclosure of financial results by Nucleus.” Such urgency, Sebi observed, indicated that the trades were driven by information not available in the public domain and that the Noticees wanted to capitalize on it once it became public.

The Noticees argued that the profit was only “accidental,” claiming they had instructed their broker to sell the shares on May 26, 2023, but the sale was executed later when prices had already surged. Sebi, however, rejected this defence, noting that the central issue was the communication and use of UPSI. The order also pointed out that the alleged delay in execution did not alter the fact that the trades were influenced by unpublished information.

The regulator further rejected the claim that the trades were based on personal analysis or chance, observing that significant financial contributions—including from Nitin’s father—were pooled to maximise gains.

Accordingly, Sebi levied a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Anupam Gupta and Rs 15 lakh on Nitin Kumar Garg, to be paid within 45 days.

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