In Brief
The Central Bureau of Investigation registered criminal cases in 2006 against accused persons, including the respondent, for fraudulent activities in the IPOs of Yes Bank and IDFC. After settling with SEBI in 2009 by paying disgorgement amounts, the respondent challenged the criminal proceedings. The High Court's Single Judge quashed the proceedings, treating the SEBI settlement as an abuse of process. The Supreme Court set aside this order and remitted the matter to a Division Bench, holding that the second-round proceedings should have been heard by a Division Bench, not a Single Judge, and that the Division Bench must independently decide whether the SEBI consent order precludes criminal prosecution.
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