SEBI order set aside

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Wednesday set aside the penalty on Tata Coffee and Tata Tea imposed by the capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, on condition that the companies disclose complete details of their preferential share allotments while acquiring shares of Saptarshi Agro Industries Limited (the target company). However, Justice Kumar Rajaratnam, Presiding Officer of SAT, took exception to the Tatas investing large sums of money in Saptarshi Agro Industries without equal investment by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Develop- ment Corporation which was the co-promoter of the target company, and considered that the investment in Saptarshi Agro Industries, after the target company was in the doldrums, was not a prudent business decision.