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2015 (5) TMI 439 - HC - Companies LawPetition by an old time Director of a non-banking financial company which has failed in repayments - SEBI order prevented him from operating in any of the securities which he owns until further orders - Only Interim order passed by SEBI - Writ Jurisdiction - Territorial jurisdiction - An alternative remedy of appeal available - Held that:- In my view, the attempt by the petitioner approaching this Court is not appropriate at all for the following reasons. The order passed by SEBI is not a final one and it is interim in nature to consider the fact that the company which is a non banking financial company had made some defaults and the Directors were accountable for such default. In furtherance of the final order that is required to be passed to provide for appropriate protection to persons who have lost their monies, it has passed an order meant to secure rectitude in financial dealings by Directors of companies and making them accountable for their alleged lapses. It can be a harsh situation for person who is retired from a company from the directorship to be held responsible for defaults but if there is any order that is passed by SEBI at Bombay which is causing inconvenience and which is not even a final order but merely an interim direction by SEBI, it is amenable for review by SEBI itself and does not require to be monitored through proceedings of this Court. Even as regards the forum conveniens, it will be wrong to argue that the petitioner's own residence will give him a cause of action, as explained above. The Full Bench was dealing with the case of an order which was passed by Appellate Tribunal at Chennai and the Court was finding that the jurisdiction was available to it and even either a case could have also been filed at Bangalore. Such situation does not arise here. No part of the cause of action arises here except the fact that the petitioner is residing here. Even the decision of the Supreme Court in M/s Kusum Ingots & Alloys Ltd.'s case [2004 (4) TMI 342 - SUPREME COURT OF INDIA] was in a situation of what was appropriate and what was the forum conveniens. Convenience ought not to be understood as convenience of the parties at all times and that cannot be again spoken from the context of personal tragedies obtaining to the petitioner. He must challenge the order which is against him in a Court which is appropriate and in a forum which is competent. In this case, since it is not a final order and the order was not really adjudicated on rights of parties, I would think that there is no scope for intervention through writ petition. Therefore, I do not propose to make any intervention. The petitioner is at liberty to approach SEBI itself for modification of the order. There is yet another reason why it shall be wholly inexigent to make intervention at this stage. If the impugned order were to be taken as a final adjudication qua petitioner and hence cannot be modified by SEBI itself then every such order passed by SEBI is amenable for a challenge through an appeal to Securities Appellate Tribunal under Section 15 T of SEBI Act. The writ petition is not even competent or efficacious, since there is an alternative remedy of appeal provided under the Act. - Decided against the appellant.
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