M/s ABCD Capital Limited, a listed public company, was found guilty of manipulating its share prices through false disclosures in its quarterly…

M/s ABCD Capital Limited, a listed public company, was found guilty of manipulating its share prices through false disclosures in its quarterly financial statements. The company's Managing Director, Mr. Arvind, was charged under: (1) Section 447 of the Companies Act, 2013 (Fraud), and (2) Regulation 9 & 10 of the SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) Regulations, 2003 read with Section 24 of the SEBI Act, 1992, for misleading investors and distorting the securities market. The SEBI Adjudicating Officer imposed a monetary penalty of 25 lakh and recommended criminal prosecution. Later, the Special Court under the Companies Act also imposed a fine of 10 lakh and three years' imprisonment on Mr. Arvind for the same fraudulent act. Mr. Arvind appealed, raising two legal objections: (1) That he cannot be punished twice for the same act of fraud under both SEBI and the Companies Act (double punishment issue).