While declining to comment on the
regulator’s action against Rajesh Exports Ltd, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Monday said the matter is part of an ongoing quasi-judicial process and must be dealt with through legal channels.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ICICI Securities India Investor Conference 2026 in Mumbai, Mr Pandey reiterated the regulator’s long-standing policy of not discussing individual cases in public.
“As a matter of principle, we do not comment on individual cases in the media. This is, in fact, a quasi-judicial process in which orders are issued, and they must be complied with or challenged through the procedures provided by law. Therefore, I will not be making any comments on the matter,” he said.
His remarks come days after SEBI issued an interim order against Rajesh Exports promoter and chief executive officer (CEO) Rajesh Mehta, alleging serious financial irregularities, fund diversion and inadequate disclosures regarding fund flows and related-party transactions.
The regulator’s interim findings stated that investigations had prima facie revealed instances of routing and layering of funds through personal accounts and related entities without adequate disclosures or supporting documentation. SEBI also alleged repeated failures by the company to satisfactorily explain the end-use of funds and identify beneficiaries of various transactions.
The regulator further noted alleged non-cooperation by statutory auditors and said audit working papers were not provided despite assurances during depositions. According to SEBI, the sustained non-cooperation suggested possible attempts to suppress material information and impede regulatory investigations.
In one of its strongest observations, the market regulator said nearly 97%-99% of the company’s reported revenue appeared to have been inflated, describing the alleged irregularities as “egregious and unheard of”.
Rajesh Exports has denied the allegations. In an exchange filing, the company maintained that its revenue had been correctly reported and attributed the dispute to what it described as a communication gap with the regulator. The company said authenticated documents would support its position.
The stock has come under intense selling pressure since the interim order was issued. Shares of Rajesh Exports hit the lower circuit limit for the third consecutive trading session on Monday, touching an intraday low of ₹94.50 on the BSE, down around 5%.
PMS Consultation Paper Soon
Addressing broader regulatory initiatives, Mr Pandey said SEBI is undertaking extensive deliberations on changes to the portfolio management services (PMS) framework and will soon issue a consultation paper seeking stakeholder feedback.
While confirming that work on the proposals is at an advanced stage, he declined to provide a specific timeline for the release of the consultation paper.
Regarding tokenisation initiatives, Mr Pandey said SEBI’s pilot programme is expected to take another 6 to 9 months before meaningful progress can be assessed. He was responding to queries about upcoming regulations on bond brokers and tokenisation frameworks.
Earlier,
addressing the investor conference, Mr Pandey said India’s capital markets are increasingly becoming a major destination for household savings and wealth creation, reflecting a structural shift in the way Indians participate in the country’s growth story.
“Capital markets are increasingly becoming a core avenue for household savings and wealth creation,” he said.
Mr Pandey described India’s economic expansion as being driven not only by growth but also by formalisation of the economy, financialisation of savings and increasing trust in institutions. Despite global uncertainties arising from geopolitical tensions and economic headwinds, India continues to remain among the fastest-growing major economies, he said.
According to the SEBI chairman, capital markets have evolved from merely reflecting economic growth to actively enabling it by connecting household savings with enterprise and channelling domestic and global capital into productive investments.
He highlighted several indicators of the transformation underway in India’s financial markets. Equity issuances crossed ₹4.5tn in FY25-26, while initial public offerings (IPOs) raised around ₹1.9tn through 366 issuances. Corporate bond issuances exceeded ₹9tn during the year.
Market capitalisation has increased from 69% of gross domestic product (GDP) a decade ago to around 128% currently, while the number of investors in the securities market has reached about 145mn (million), growing at more than 20% annually. Mutual fund assets have expanded from ₹12tn to more than ₹80tn.
Mr Pandey said household financial savings as a share of GDP rose to 21.7% in FY24-25 from around 20% in FY22-23, underscoring the growing role of capital markets in household financial planning.
The SEBI chairman outlined a series of regulatory reforms aimed at improving capital formation, market efficiency and investor confidence.
He said IPO timelines have been shortened, rights issue processes accelerated and listing norms rationalised to facilitate capital raising. SEBI has also broadened participation norms for anchor investors and strengthened the corporate bond market architecture.
Mr Pandey revealed that SEBI and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are working together to introduce derivatives on corporate bond indices and are also developing a market-making framework to improve liquidity in the corporate bond market.
The regulator is also pursuing measures to attract foreign capital, including faster onboarding of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) through the SWAGAT framework, simplified documentation requirements and reduced registration timelines.
Looking ahead, Mr Pandey said SEBI is reviewing variable net-worth requirements for stockbrokers, examining improvements to IPO price-discovery mechanisms and considering easing compliance obligations for research analysts. The regulator is also proposing a more practical framework for intraday borrowing by mutual funds to manage temporary liquidity mismatches.
Emphasising investor protection, Mr Pandey said every reform undertaken by the regulator ultimately aims to ensure that investors feel informed, protected and fairly treated.
“If the investor feels informed, protected and fairly treated, confidence will follow, participation will deepen and markets will continue to grow on a strong and sustainable foundation,” he added.
