SAT defers hearing on Zee Entertainment Subhash Chandra, Punit Goenka’s appeal

The SAT (Securities Appellate Tribunal) on Monday deferred hearing on Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra and ZEE managing director Punit Goenka’s plea challenging market regulator SEBI’s interim order till June 27.

On June 19, the SAT refused to give any interim relief to Chandra and Goenka after the markets regulator barred them from holding the position of a director or key managerial personnel in any listed company or allegedly siphoning off funds of the media firm.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises challenged the Sebi order at SAT. The NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) hearing on the potential merger of ZEEL with Sony Pictures Networks India is expected to resume today.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ counselor wanted a stay on the Sebi order. He said that the market regulator had no evidence beyond the bank statements to prove the allegations of round-tripping of funds and that Sebi cannot pass on ex-party orders.

Zee in its earlier reply to SAT Sebi had alleged that Chandra and Goenka had diverted public funds to private entities, which calls for urgent action.

“In the instant case, we have a situation before us where the Chairman Emeritus and the Managing Director and CEO of this large listed company are involved in a myriad of different schemes and transactions through which vast amounts of public money belonging to listed companies are diverted to private entities owned and controlled by these persons,” Sebi said affidavit to SAT.

The ZEEL-Sony merger is the talk of the town for quite some time now and it seems to be garnering more attention as the merger is going forward. Outlook