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SEBI Imposes Rs13 Lakh Penalty on 4 in Bodhtree Consulting Case
Moneylife Digital Team 22 November 2024
Investor Interest
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed Rs13 lakh penalty on four entities associated with Bodhtree Consulting Ltd (BCL) for violations of securities laws. These penalties were issued for off-market share transactions and failure to comply with regulatory directives. 
 
The entities penalised include Kepler Information Systems Pvt Ltd (noticee 1), Kalpana Komati (noticee 2), Trivikram Kolukuluri (noticee 3) and Silamkoti Abhilash (noticee 4).  
 
In an order, Asha Shetty, adjudicating officer (AO) of SEBI, says, “In the instant case, it is an undisputed fact that the noticees were parties to the off-market transactions that took place in the shares of the company during the IP. Further, Mr Abhilash hampered the investigation by not responding to the summonses.”
 
“…. As per the relevant provisions of the Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA), every contract in securities should be executed through members of a recognised stock exchange (s) or through or with such member(s) and the only exception thereto is spot delivery contract(s), the transactions were off-market transactions. Therefore, they were in the nature of spot delivery contracts as defined under Section 2(i) of the SCRA,” the AO says.
 
SEBI launched an investigation on 7 February 2018, after noticing unusual trading in BCL shares. The probe uncovered large off-market transactions originating from the BCL Employees Benefit Trust, where physical shares were misused and proceeds were diverted to the relatives of BCL’s managing director.
 
Ms Shetty, the AO of SEBI, noticed that Kepler Information Systems transferred 2,05,656 shares, valued at Rs2.15 crore to Ms Komati, claiming it was a gift. However, the company failed to provide any supporting documents, such as a gift deed. 
 
Additionally, Ms Kolukuluri stated that the transfer of 1,09,944 shares was for loan repayment, but this explanation was rejected due to a delay of 1,342 days and the absence of proper documentation.
 
Further, Silamkoti Abhilash failed to comply with the SEBI summons, ignoring multiple requests to submit documents and appear for questioning. This non-cooperation violated Section 11C(3) of the SEBI Act and obstructed the investigation. SEBI concluded that these transactions did not adhere to prescribed timelines, rendering them illegal under Sections 13, 16, and 18 of the SCRA.  
 
Despite objections about delays in the adjudication process, SEBI clarified that the time taken was justified given the complexity of the transactions and the need for coordination with multiple entities. It noted that Ms Komati and Mr Abhilash did not respond to show-cause notices or participate in hearings, leaving the charges uncontested. Kepler Information Systems and Trivikram Kolukuluri were provided access to all relevant documents, enabling them to respond, and their claims of prejudice due to delays were dismissed.  
 
In conclusion, SEBI imposed penalties of Rs3 lakh each on Kepler Information Systems, Kalpana Komat, and Trivikram Kolukuluri. A higher penalty of Rs4 lakh was levied on Silamkoti Abhilash for non-compliance with SEBI’s summons and obstructing the investigation. 
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