LexStreakRead free →
Supreme Court of India· 11 August 2026

Under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, is a disgorgement order under Section 11B affected by how a person used the proceeds of insider trading?

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA v. RAJEEV VASANT SHETH & ORS
2026 INSC 826 · CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4905 OF 2022
Coram: Sanjay Karol; Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh
🔖 Save this judgment🔔 Follow s.15Z Securities and Exchange Bo…📬 Get today's judgments
View the original judgment PDFFree to read. To download it — or the LexStreak typeset copy with the headnote and Points of Law — create an account; downloads are part of the Pro plan.
Answer

No. Where a person has engaged in insider trading and avoided a loss by trading while in possession of unpublished price sensitive information, an order under Section 11B directing disgorgement of the amount of loss avoided cannot be faulted merely because the proceeds were later applied to a stated purpose; the disgorgement order is restored.

Headnote

Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 — s.12A — s.15G — s.15J — s.11B — SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 — Regulation 4(1) — Insider trading — Disgorgement — SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 — Regulation 4(1) — Purpose of trade proceeds irrelevant — Held: Under the note appended to Regulation 4(1) of the PIT Regulations 2015, once a person is shown to have traded in securities while in possession of unpublished price sensitive information, the purposes to which the proceeds of the transaction are applied are irrelevant to establishing insider trading. (¶9, 11) SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 — Regulation 4(1) — 'Including' does not attract ejusdem generis — Held further: The word 'including' preceding the listed defences in Regulation 4(1) does not attract the rule of ejusdem generis, since that rule applies to general words following specific words and not the reverse; it nonetheless signals that the enumerated defences are not exhaustive and other defences of a similar nature may be available. (¶13) Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 — s.11B — Disgorgement order restored — Held further: Since the transactions here are governed by the 2015 PIT Regulations, which unlike the 1992 Regulations considered in SEBI v. Abhijit Rajan contain the note barring consideration of the use of sale proceeds, the disgorgement ordered by the Whole Time Member is restored. (¶14, 15, 16) Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 — s.15G — Penalty reduced to statutory minimum — Held further: The penalty of Rs.25 Lakhs imposed on Respondent No.1 under Section 15G is excessive and is reduced to Rs.10 Lakhs, the minimum penalty as imposed on Respondent Nos.2 and 3; the appeal is allowed and the penalty modified to this extent. (¶18, 20)

In the Court's own words
Paragraph 16For the reasons as aforestated, the appeal is allowed. On the aspect of the penalty and disgorgement, the order that has been issued by the WTM stands reproduced supra. The SAT, consequent to its conclusion, has set aside the same. In accordance with the discussion above, the penalty has to be imposed once again. As far as disgorgement is concerned, which in simple terms is being asked by the order to give up the profits secured by the insider having traded securities while in possession of UPSI. It is clearly established that, in view of the above discussion that the respondents had engaged in insider trading and, as such, had avoided approximately Rs.1.38 crores in losses. In view of the explanation given in Section 11B of the SEBI Act reproduced supra, such order of the WTM cannot be faulted. The same is restored.
Acts & Sections
s.15Z Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992s.12A Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992s.11B Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992s.15G Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992s.15J Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992s.15T Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992Regulation 3 SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015Regulation 4 SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015

One judgment a day. That's the whole habit.

Read the full text of SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA v. RAJEEV VASANT SHETH & ORS — and get the Supreme Court's output as a five-minute daily read, with plain-language headnotes and the questions each judgment settles.

Create my free account

Free forever plan · 30 seconds · data stays in India

Open the full judgment →

Also decided in this judgment
Under the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015, once a person has traded in securities while in possession of unpublished price sensitive information, is the purpose for which the sale proceeds are used relevant to establishing insider trading?Does the word "including" before the list of defences in Regulation 4(1) of the PIT Regulations, 2015 attract the rule of ejusdem generis?How does the 2015 PIT Regulations’ treatment of insider trading differ from the 1992 Regulations considered in SEBI v. Abhijit Rajan?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Supreme Court of India. Corrections