NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra’s plea seeking public disclosure of the ultimate beneficial owners and portfolio holdings of alternative investment funds (AIFs), foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and their intermediaries, saying it could not issue directions in the absence of a legal framework mandating such disclosures.A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna, R Mahadevan and DK Upadhyaya said there was no existing legal regime requiring full public disclosure of the ultimate beneficial owners of these funds. It said the court could direct the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to ensure compliance if such a framework existed, but could not issue a mandamus without one.“Had there been any legal regime and the SEBI was not following it, the court can direct for compliance but in the absence of any framework or legal regime, the court cannot issue any mandamus,” it observed.The bench also questioned Moitra’s decision to approach the court, suggesting that she could have raised the issue in Parliament and sought a discussion on it.Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Moitra, argued that the court could direct SEBI to ensure full disclosure of the actual beneficiaries of these funds even in the absence of a specific regulatory framework. He contended that innocent investors were being “manipulated” by investors who artificially boosted the share prices of companies.
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In her public interest litigation (PIL), Moitra sought greater transparency and investor awareness in India’s financial markets by making details of the ultimate beneficial owners and portfolio holdings of AIFs and FPIs publicly available.The plea noted that SEBI regulates India’s securities markets and oversees the operations of AIFs and FPIs as part of its mandate.