Securities market watchdog Sebi has issued a warning to Fortis Healthcare for delaying disclosures about a lawsuit in the US for more than 14 months, and directed it to ensure that such instances do not happen again.
"You have delayed by approximately 14 months the disclosure of the material event of filing a suit in a US court seeking USD 6.5 billion in damages," Sebi said.
The company also failed to disclose the interim award dated October 17, 2022 in the arbitration proceedings titled 'Balaji Great Lotus Glory vs Eleos Finvestia Acquisition Trust & Ors.' and the subsequent material developments in the matter, it added.
"The above violations have been viewed seriously. You are therefore warned to be careful in future and are advised to exercise due caution in future and avoid recurrence of such instances failing which appropriate enforcement action may be initiated in accordance with the provisions of Sebi Act, 1992 and the Rules and Regulations framed thereunder," the market regulator said.
The company is also advised to take corrective steps, place this communication and the measures taken before the Board of Directors and disseminate a copy of this communication on the websites of the exchanges where it is listed, it added.
In January last year, Fortis had announced that Envesecure filed a suit against it and various others for alleged "copyright infringement and tortious interference with contracts", seeking damages in excess of USD 6.5 billion.
Emqore Envesecure had filed the suit against 28 named defendants and 21 non-party defendants, it had stated.
In September 2022, Fortis had said that a US court dismissed the suit.
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