RIL to be made party to insider trading case between Sebi, RTI activist Arun Agarwal

The Bombay High Court has directed thatReliance Industries be made a party to the case between the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and right-to-information (RTI) activist-cum-lawyer Arun Agarwal, who is seeking release of names involved in an insider trading case.

The division bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and AA Sayed said since the matter relates to a probe on RIL, the company should be given a chance to present its case.

The court will hear the case on December 19. The Right To Information (RTI) Act enables the general public to seek data held by government or public sector authorities.

Essentially the 'right to know' legal process helps any individual or institution to seek government-held information. The court also asked whether the capitalmarket regulator can disclose the file notes and the underlying process of the consent route circular to the RTI applicant.

The genesis of the case lies in a plea filed by Agarwal, who sought from Sebi the names of individuals, partners, directors and major shareholders involved in the short-sale of shares of Reliance PetroleumB in November 2007. He had also sought the names of brokers through which the alleged short-sales were done.

The court's observations came after Agarwal highlighted the fact that there have been reports saying that RIL wants to settle the case by paying just Rs 10 crore, even though the alleged unlawful gains amount to Rs 500 crore.

Sebi filed an application in the Bombay High Court after the Central Information Commission (CIC) directed thecapital market regulator to disclose the names of entities involved in the Reliance Industries (RIL) insider trading matter. Mumbai-based firm Law Point is representing Sebi in the case.