In Brief
A woman holding 903 equity shares acquired in 1994–95 was defrauded when another person impersonated her, changed her address without proper procedure, and obtained duplicate share certificates through forged signatures, which were then transferred to a third party in 2012. The victim discovered the fraud in 2014 and sought relief. The tribunal found the company liable for its agents' breach of procedure and directed register rectification. The appellate tribunal wrongly set this aside, relegating her to civil suit. The Supreme Court held that in open-and-shut fraud cases where facts are undisputed and the company acknowledges non-compliance with regulatory requirements, the tribunal must grant direct relief and rectify the register. The company and depository must restore the victim's shareholding by deleting the fraudster's name.
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