The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) may appoint an investigating officer to look into complaints made by Nusli Wadia with regard to the role of independent directors and on insider trading involving Tata companies.

Wadia was an independent director on the board of several Tata companies. He had written a letter to SEBI alleging violation of insider trading norms by Tata Sons while purchasing shares of Tata Motors ahead of the extraordinary general meeting called for the removal of Cyrus Mistry and himself.

Wadia had alleged that Tata Sons, the holding company of the diversified conglomerate, bought 50 lakh shares of Tata Motors after the board of the auto major decided to advise American Depositary Receipt (ADR) holders to abstain from voting on the resolutions seeking the removal of Mistry and himself.

He alleged that the shares, representing 1.7 per cent of the share capital of Tata Motors, were bought so that the resolution could be passed with the requisite majority.

In another letter, Wadia had asked SEBI to investigate unpublished material and price-sensitive information shared by listed Tata companies with Tata trustees and Tata Sons.

According to sources, while SEBI has already asked Tata companies to explain their position, this could be discussed further at its upcoming board meeting. “The regulator could assign a special officer to deal with all the complaints since they appear serious,” said a source.

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