Sebi to Bombay HC: Shareholder rights first

Privacy Takes a Back Seat

- NESIL STANEY

THE SECURITIES AND Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in an important move, responded to a challenge by five Kirloskar Group companies at the Bombay High Court, holding that shareholders' right to information outweighs promoters' privacy in disclosures of private agreements, and that they must be informed of any pact that could affect a listed company's management.

"From Sebi's perspective, it gets decided that the family settlement will change the promoter group structure," said Leelavathi Naidu, Senior Partner at IC RegFin Legal Partners.