11 firms fined for failing to help investors

Sebi on Thursday said it has initiated a regulatory action against 11 companies and imposed penalties of Rs 50.15 lakh from the beginning of the current fiscal for their failure in resolving investor grievances.

The latest information available on the Sebi website points out that the number of such companies in the current fiscal so far is higher than a total of five firms against whom penal action was taken by Sebi in the entire previous fiscal of 2011-12 and three in the financial year 2010-11.

As far as the total penalties are concerned, the market regulator  imposed a fine of Rs 53.30 lakh in 2011-12 and Rs 43 lakh in 2010-11. But the total penalty in 2010-11 had declined by Rs 10 lakh after Securities Appellate Tribunal lowered the penalty on one company, Kaleidoscope Films Ltd (formerly known as Gujarat Investment Castings Ltd) from Rs 17 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. Sebi said it imposed those monetary penalties against the companies “through adjudication proceedings for their failure to redress investor grievances”.