W.P.(CRL) 1411/2023 p. 1 $~25 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(CRL) 1411/2023 PEERS ALLIED CORPORATION LIMITED .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Ashok K. Mishra and Ms. Rakhi Ajmani, Advocates. versus SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA .....Respondent Through: Mr. Ashish Aggarwal, Mr. Himanshu Singh and Ms. Lisha Arora, Advocates. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV NARULA O R D E R % 24.02.2025 1. The present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950 is directed against the notices of attachment dated 07th April, 2021, arising from attachment proceedings bearing No. 6541 and 6542 of 2211, issued by the Recovery Officer in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 28A(1)(b), 11(2)(ia) of SEBI Act, 19922 read with Section 226 of the Second Schedule of the Income Tax Act, 1961. By the impugned notices, the bank and demat accounts of the Petitioner company and its directors have been attached. 2. The impugned attachment arises out of an adjudication order dated 23rd 1 “Impugned notices” 2 “SEBI Act” This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 02/07/2025 at 00:44:10 W.P.(CRL) 1411/2023 p. 2 January, 2020 passed by the Adjudicating Officer, SEBI under Section 15-I of the SEBI Act, 19923 read with Rule 5 of SEBI (Procedure for Holding Inquiry and Imposing Penalties by Adjudicating Officer) Rules, 1995 4 , whereby a penalty of INR 25 lakhs was imposed on the Petitioner for operating schemes/plans in the nature of Collective Investment Scheme 5 without obtaining prior registration from SEBI. The operative portion of the said order reads as follows: “26. Considering the aforesaid peculiar facts and circumstances and mitigating and other factors under Section 15J, I exercise of the powers conferred under section 15 I of the SEBI Act and Rule 5 of Adjudication Rules, hereby, impose a penalty of ₹25,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Lakh only) under Section 15D (a) of SEBI Act upon the Noticees. The said total amount of penalty shall be paid by them, jointly and severally. In my view, the said penalty is commensurate with the violation committed by them. 27. The Noticees shall remit/ pay the said total amount of penalty within 45 days of receipt of this order in either of the way of demand draft in favour of “SEBI- Penalties Remittable to Government of India)”, payable at Mumbai, or by following ti1e path at SEBI website www.sebi.gov.in, ENFORCE11ENT > Orders > Orders of .AO > PAY NOW; OR by using the web link https://siportal.sebi.gov.in/ intermediary/ AOPaymentGatewal.html. In case of any difficulties in payment of penalties, the Noticees may contact the support at portalhelp@sebi.gov.in. xx.. xx.. xx.. xx.. xx.. 29. In the event of failure to pay the said amount of penalty within 45 days of the receipt of this Order, recovery proceedings may be initiated under section 28A of the SEBI Act, 1992 for realization of the said amount of penalty along with interest thereon, inter alia, by attachment and sale of movable and immovable properties. 30. In terms of Rule 6 of the Adjudication Rutes, copies of this order are sent to the Noticees and also SEBI.” 3. Thus, aggrieved by the aforenoted orders, the Petitioner has filed the instant petition, seeking the following prayer: “(a) Pass appropriate writ/directions/orders in favour of Petitioner 3 “SEBI Act” 4 “SEBI Rules” 5 “CIS” This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 02/07/2025 at 00:44:10 W.P.(CRL) 1411/2023 p. 3 Company thereby directing the respondent for removal of attachment FROM THE Bank Accounts and Demat Accounts of the Petitioner Company and its Directors for enabling them to repay back the outstanding amount to the investors;” 4. Counsel for the Petitioner argues that there are multiple proceedings under different forums initiated by SEBI, which gives rise to double jeopardy. He states that on the same cause of action, SEBI has filed FIRs against the directors of the Petitioner company and also lodged a criminal compliant under Section 199 and 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 19736 read with Section 26B and 26E of the SEBI Act. In this regard, he submits that the Petitioner company had also filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking quashing/clubbing of the identical criminal proceedings, however the said petition was dismissed vide order dated 14th November, 2022. Nonetheless, he argues that out of the total INR 14.03 Crores collected from the investors, the Petitioner has already refunded substantial amount to them and is willing to pay the balance amount as well, therefore, no penalty could have been imposed by SEBI. 5. On the other hand, Counsel for the SEBI controverts the submissions of the Petitioner and points out that the adjudicating order is appealable under Section 15T of the SEBI Act. Moreover, he highlights that the impugned attachment orders dated 07th April, 2021 are also appealable under Section 15T read with Section 28A of SEBI Act, further read with Rule 86 of the Second Schedule of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 6. The Court has considered the submission of the parties. In the opinion of the Court, all the grounds urged in the present petition can be urged before 6 “CrPC” This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 02/07/2025 at 00:44:10 W.P.(CRL) 1411/2023 p. 4 the Appellate Authority under the SEBI Act. Thus, in view of the of the fact that an alternate statutory remedy is available to Petitioner, the Court is not inclined to entertain the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution. 7. At this juncture, it is noted that there is a limitation period to challenge the impugned orders, which has lapsed. However, considering the peculiar facts of this case, in case the Petitioner would prefer an appeal against the impugned orders within thirty days from today, the said appeal shall not be rejected on the ground of limitation. 8. With the above directions, the present petition is disposed of. 9. It is made clear that the Court has not commented on the merits of the case. All rights and contentions of parties are left open. SANJEEV NARULA, J FEBRUARY 24, 2025 d.negi This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 02/07/2025 at 00:44:10