๐ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ. ๐ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ.
We are pleased to share this insightful article authored by our Founder & Managing Partner, Mr. Sumit Agrawal, along with Shri M Damodaran, former Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), UTI and IDBI Bank, published in Mint.
The article examines a seemingly minor drafting issue in Clause 93(b) of the proposed Securities Markets Code, 2025, and its potentially far-reaching consequences. It explains why replacing the word “or” with “and” is not merely a linguistic correction, but a necessary safeguard to ensure that insider trading provisions continue to target trading on information that is both material and non-public.
Sumit Agrawal
Regstreet Law Advisors
M Damodaran
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ: ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ
One word. 10 years imprisonment. โน25 crore fine. PMLA consequences.
The difference between ‘or’ and ‘and’ in Clause 93(b) of the ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ is the difference between a law that targets guilty traders and one that can ensnare every investor who reads the morning newspaper before placing a trade.
Co-authored with Shri M Damodaran – former Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), UTI, and IDBI Bank – our piece in today’s Mint examines this monosyllabic drafting error and why it must be fixed before the Code is enacted.
The fix is not complex. Replace ‘or’ with ‘and.’ India’s own PIT Regulations already got this right. Globally it is Material Non Public Information (MNPI). The SMC must not carry the errors of the SEBI Act, in the parent statute.
Mint Opinion: https://lnkd.in/dwPEvdE7
