Category: Legal

ED opposes bail plea of AAP accused in Delhi excise policy scam case

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, December 13, opposed the bail pleas of AAP’s Vijay Nair and businessmen Sharath Reddy and Abhishek Boinpally before a court here in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy scam case in which Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also an accused.

The ED urged Special Judge M.K. Nagpal to dismiss the pleas filed by the three accused in its reply to their bail applications. The agency told the court that if granted the relief, the accused may hamper with the ongoing investigation and also flee from justice.

The court posted the matter for the detailed argument on the bail petition of Sarath Reddy for December 17, while it will hear the pleas by Nair and Boinpally on December 19. The court will also hear the bail application filed by another co-accused Sameer Mahendru on December 17, while Binoy Babu’s bail plea will come up for hearing on December 19.

Also read: Delhi excise policy a ‘device’ to generate illegal funds by AAP leaders: ED

All five accused are currently in judicial custody. The ED had recently filed its first prosecution complaint (ED’s equivalent to a charge sheet) in the case.

The ED had arrested businessman Sameer Mahendru, Managing Director of Delhi’s Jor Bagh-based liquor distributor Indospirit Group, on September 27, while Sarath Reddy, Director, Aurobindo Pharma, and Benoy Babu, General Manager, International Brands, Pernod Ricard, were apprehended on November 10.

Also read: Delhi excise policy scam: HC directs media outlets to follow CBI, ED press releases

On November 14, the ED arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) communications in-charge Vijay Nair and Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinpally in the case. The agency has also made Sisodia, the then excise commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar accused in the case.

The ED and the CBI have alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, licence fee was waived or reduced and L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval. The beneficiaries diverted “illegal” gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Parliamentary panel suggests changes to competition law amendment bill

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A parliamentary panel on Tuesday recommended various changes to a bill to amend the competition law, including bringing cartels under the scope of settlements as a “pragmatic recourse.”

In its report tabled in the Lok Sabha, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance also said the “current prima-facie opinion timeline and that of passing the order for approval of combinations, should remain unchanged.”

Under the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 that was introduced in the Parliament on August 5, the corporate affairs ministry has proposed reducing the timeline for CCI to form a prima-facie opinion on a case to 20 days from 30 days.

Also read: Competition law: Bill proposes to empower antitrust watchdog

Also, it has proposed cutting down the timeline for approval of combinations to 150 days from 210 days.

In this regard, the committee said that apprehensions were raised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and stakeholders that it will put the authority in a difficult and onerous position.

“The committee is of the opinion that reducing the timeline can be burdensome for an already understaffed commission,” it said in the report.

Among other recommendations, the panel said CCI should consider expanding the scope of settlements to include cartels also as a “pragmatic recourse to the whole process”.

“The argument against including cartels is that they, by their very nature are anti-competitive… A settlement provision for cartels on a case-by-case basis may be for the courts to decide. It does not require emphasis that any matter, cartels or otherwise, that reaches the settlement stage, would have an anti-competitive one,” it said.

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In the bill, the ministry has proposed the introduction of a ‘Settlement and Commitment framework to reduce litigations’ and incentivise parties in an ongoing cartel investigation in terms of lesser penalty to disclose information regarding other cartels.

An application for settlement can be filed only after receipt of the investigation report and before passing the final order by CCI as may be specified by the regulations.

After the introduction, the bill was referred to the committee, which is chaired by BJP member Jayant Sinha.

It will be the first time since the enforcement of the Competition Act in 2009 that amendments will be made to the Act.

The Act was brought in 2002 and subsequently, it underwent amendments in 2007 and 2009. In May 2009, the antitrust provisions of the law came into force and two years later in May 2011, CCI started screening mergers and acquisitions.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Age of consent a growing concern, says CJI while study finds 1 in 4 cases under POCSO Act are ‘romantic cases’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A decade after the government passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012, the judiciary and activists have urged the Parliament to take a relook at the age of consent prescribed under the Act.

Speaking at a two-day national consultation on the POCSO Act on Saturday, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said there were growing concerns related to the age of consent for sexual activities under the Act, especially in cases of adolescent love affairs.

CJI Chandrachud said that the POCSO Act criminalised all sexual activities for those under the age of 18 even in ‘romantic’ relationships without considering that consent is factually present between the minors. “Because the presumption of the law is that there is no consent in the legal sense below the age of 18,” Deccan Herald quoted the CJI saying.

This “category of case poses difficult questions for judges”, the CJI said.

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In June, a study conducted by Bengaluru-based NGO Enfold Proactive Health Trust and UNICEF-India found that 25 percent of the cases registered under the POCSO Act in West Bengal, Assam and Maharashtra were “romantic cases”, in which the victim was in a consensual relationship with the accused.

In 2018, a similar study conducted by the Centre for the Child and the Law at the National Law School of India University (CCL-NLSIU) found that romantic cases constituted 21.2 percent of cases in Andhra Pradesh, 20.5 percent in Maharashtra, 21.5 percent in Delhi and 21.8 percent in three districts of Karnataka, The Hindu reported.

Researchers Swagata Raha and Shruti Ramakrishnan, who authored the June study, analysed all 7,064 POCSO judgments between 2016 and 2020 in the three states and found that 1,715 cases were “romantic cases” where the complainant admitted to having a consensual relationship with the accused.

The study also revealed that in 46.6 percent of the “romantic cases” the girl was between the ages of 16 to 18 years. The researchers also said that the Act was creating problems for tribal communities as well where marrying below the age of 18 is not taboo.

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The researchers termed such incidences as romantic cases where the victim, her family or any prosecutorial witness revealed that there was a romantic relationship or in cases where the court concluded that the relationship was romantic in nature.

The number of cases “would be much higher if we draw inferences from court decisions”, Indian Express quoted Shruti Ramakrishnan as saying.

According to the study, the court took a lenient view of such cases by recording convictions only in exceptional cases and acquitting most involved in “romantic cases”.

The POCSO Act raised the age of consent for sexual activity to 18 years from 16 years in 2012.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

SC stays NGT order to phase out public transport vehicles below BS-IV in 6 months

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Supreme Court has stayed an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to phase out all public transport vehicles with BS-IV (Bharat Stage) engines and below in the next six months.

A bench of Justices S K Kaul and Abhay S Oka issued notice to the parties in the case and sought their replies on the appeal filed by the West Bengal government.

The NGT in its order had said the state government must ensure that public transport vehicles with BS-IV engines and below are phased out in six months so that only BS-VI vehicles ply in the state, including Kolkata and Howrah, thereafter.

“It is her (counsel for the West Bengal government) say that in terms of the directions of this court in an order dated October 24, 2018, no motor vehicle conforming to the emission standard Bharat Stage-IV was to be sold or registered in the country with effect from April 1, 2020.

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“Thus, registrations were carried out till that date as permitted, and therefore the 15-year period has to be counted from the date of registration. Otherwise, it will amount to making the vehicles unusable in less than 15 years. Issue notice. In the meantime, the operation of the aforesaid direction has stayed,” the bench said.

The eastern bench of the NGT had noted that a huge number of private and commercial vehicles older than 15 years were plying in Kolkata and Howrah, which was adding to the air pollution.

The tribunal in its order had said while phasing out the old vehicles, a move towards the use of cleaner and greener technology with the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses and electric buses may be expedited.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Succession right of tribal women: SC directs Centre to consider amending provisions of Hindu Succession Act

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Observing that a female tribal is entitled to parity with a male tribal in intestate succession, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to examine the issue and consider amending the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act so as to make it applicable to the members of the Scheduled Tribes.

The top court said when the daughter belonging to the non­-tribal is entitled to an equal share in the property of her father, there is no reason to deny such a right to the daughter of tribal communities.

As per Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, the Hindu Succession Act will not be applicable to members of the Scheduled Tribes.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and Krishna Murari said there is no justification for denying the right of survivorship (a right of a person to property on the death of another having a joint interest) so far as the female members of Scheduled Tribes are concerned.

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“It is directed to examine the question by the Central Government to consider it just and necessary to withdraw the exemptions provided under the Hindu Succession Act in so far as the applicability of the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act to the Scheduled Tribes and whether to bring a suitable amendment or not.

We hope and trust that the Central Government will look into the matter and take an appropriate decision taking into consideration the right to equality guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India,” the bench said.

The apex court said a female tribal is entitled to parity with a male tribal in intestate succession.

“To deny the equal right to the daughter belonging to the tribal even after a period of 70 years of the Constitution of India under which right to equality is guaranteed, it is high time for the Central Government to look into the matter and if required, to amend the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act by which the Hindu Succession Act is not made applicable to the members of the Scheduled Tribe,” the bench said.

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The top court’s observations came while dismissing a plea on whether a daughter (belonging to Scheduled Tribes) is entitled to the share in the compensation with respect to the land acquired on survivorship basis under the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act.

“Therefore, so long as Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act stands and there is no amendment, the parties shall be governed by the provisions of Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act.

“Therefore, though on equity we may be with the appellant being daughter and more than approximately 70 years have passed after the enactment of the Hindu Succession Act and much water has flown thereafter and though we are prima facie of the opinion that not to grant the benefit of survivorship to the daughter in the property of the father can be said to be bad in law and cannot be justified in the present scenario, unless Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act is amended, the parties being member of the Scheduled Tribe are governed by Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act,” the bench said.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

BharatPe files case for clawback of Ashneer Grover’s restricted shares, founder title: Sources

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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BharatPe has filed arbitration for clawback of former managing director and co-founder Ashneer Grover’s restricted shareholding and founder title, sources told CNBC-TV18. According to the sources the arbitration, filed on Thursday, December 8, is under Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) rules Currently, Grover holds roughly 8.43 percent stake in BharatPe, of which 1.4 percent was not vested as on the date of his resignation (March 1, 2022)

The company had earlier sent a legal notice to Grover to transfer his 1.4 percent restricted shares under SHA (shareholder agreement). Interestingly this is the third legal action after the civil suit at Delhi High Court and criminal complaint with the Economic Offences Wing.

Also read: BharatPe makes explosive claims against former MD Ashneer Grover and his wife — details here

Earlier, the Delhi high court on Thursday heard the fintech company’s plea on Grover for launching a “vicious” campaign against the company. BharatPe has filed a 2,800-page civil suit and criminal complaint against Ashneer Grover, wife and family. The family members include Madhuri Jain Grover’s brother-in-law Deepak Gupta (head admin & logistics), her father Suresh Jain and brother Shwetank Jain (both vendors of the company).

BharatPe has alleged charges on 17 counts, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, siphoning, embezzlement of funds and forgery and has claimed Rs 88 crore in damages from Grover, and family. In this regard, the Delhi HC has issued notice and has decided to summon Grover and his wife.

BharatPe told CNBC-TV18 that it has initiated civil and criminal action against erstwhile co-founder and MD Ashneer Grover, former head of controls Madhuri Jain Grover, and other connected parties of their family for various claims, including misappropriation of company funds.

The complaint by the company are based on findings of an Alvarez and Marsal preliminary report from January.

After being fired over alleged misappropriation of funds, Madhuri Jain Grover released an audio clip allegedly of a conversation between company co-founder Ashneer Grover, Bhavik Koladiya and chairman Rajnish Kumar. She further called her sacking a conspiracy, sharing a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat purportedly between Grover and BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer.

Also read: Delhi High Court to summon Ashneer Grover, wife after BharatPe’s plea

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

BharatPe makes explosive claims against former MD Ashneer Grover and his wife — details here

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Here are the eight claims made by the company against Grover and family

Claim 1: The company has claimed that payments aggregating to Rs 71.76 crores were made to fake vendors. BharatPe said in its complaint that the payments were made against invoices issued by 35 non-existent vendors identified by GST Authorities. Majority of the said fake vendors were owned by persons known to Ashneer Grover.

BharatPe had to reverse the total ineligible ITC and paid penalties. The company said that it was Madhuri Jain Grover’s brother-in-law Deepak Gupta who was responsible for on-boarding vendors. The company claims the 35 fake vendors used to siphon off funds.

Claim 2: The that penalty under CGST act worth Rs 1.66 crores was paid.

Claim 3: Rs 7.6 crores were  paid to fake HR firms. Madhuri Jain Grover had complete control over hiring and the company claims that she siphoned off money by making payments to eight HR firms.

According to the company, the invoices raised were fictitious and fabricated, and no service in relation to those invoices had been provided. The eight HR firms in question were related to Madhuri Jain Grover and family.

Claim 4: A Rs 1.85 crore payment was made to an interiors design business, owned by Madhuri Jain, without BharatPe’s knowledge. The company has said that she treated BharatPe as her personal business and that the company employees used to file tax returns for the said interior design firm.

Bharart Pe was made to pay Rs 2.66 crores for the financial year 2020 and financial year 2021 before disclosing the related party status of the interior design firm.

Claim 5: BharatPe has claimed that the couple financed personal via the company. The firm has given a bifurcation of these said costs.

— A total of Rs 52.25 lakhs paid in rent for the couple’s Panchsheel Park residence – monthly lease of Rs 2.75 lakh + Rs 5.5 lakh as as security deposit.

— Electricity Bill worth Rs 10,020

— Purchase of Sony Bravia TV worth Rs 1.04 lakh

— Purchase of Mi TV 4X worth Rs 36,999

— Purchase of fridge worth Rs 15,000

— Purchase of LED TV worth Rs 15,000

— Air Travel for children and family. Flight from Mumbai to Delhi – for family – amounting to Rs 10,232.

— Family vacation to US (Grover, wife, children) amounting to Rs 5.83 lakh. A family trip to Dubai (Grover, wife and children) amounting to Rs 3.84 lakh.

— Visa expenses of relatives – Rs 26,400

— Skin treatment taken Madhuri Jain.  A reimbursed of Rs 22,500 was taken from Bharat Pe for the same.

Claim 6: The company has said that inflated payments worth Rs 13 lakh were made to vendors for supply for plastic standees.

Claim 7: A trip to Thailand for  Rs 4.51 lakhs. The company said that double payment was made to the travel agent for official Thailand visit.

Claim 8: The company has claimed that Grover and his wife’s action have led to a loss for the brand, reputation and goodwill. The company suffered grave injury to the goodwill and reputation caused by Grover and his wife making derogatory statements and spreading the foregoing false narrative in the public eye.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Delhi High Court to summon Ashneer Grover, wife after BharatPe’s plea

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Kerala introduces bill to replace governor as chancellor of universities

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Left government in Kerala on Wednesday tabled the contentious University Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Assembly to replace the Governor as Chancellor of universities in the state and appoint eminent academicians in the top post.

Law Minister P Rajeeve introduced the bill in the House amidst continuing tussle between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the Pinarayi Vijayan government over various issues including in the appointment of vice chancellors in varsities.

According to the Bill, the government shall appoint an academician of high repute or a person of eminence in any of the fields of science including agriculture and veterinary science, technology, medicine, social science, humanities, literature, art, culture, law or public administration as the Chancellor of the University.

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It also said the Chancellor shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office.

However, the opposition Congress-UDF members raised a handful of objections against it saying it would face legal issues if passed in the present form.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan charged that the Bill was prepared in haste without much contemplation and has several ambiguities.

Noting that the Bill comprised aspects violating UGC guidelines, he said a new law won’t stand if it is introduced under the State Act against that of the directives of the apex higher education body.

He also said the Bill could not be presented in the House as the Financial Memorandum was incomplete.

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“There is no mention about the age limit and the minimum educational qualification of the Chancellor in the Bill. That means, the government can appoint anyone according to their mind in the top post. It will destroy the autonomous stature of the universities and turn them into mere government departments,” Satheesan alleged.

The opposition wanted the government to withdraw the present Bill and come out with a fresh one after rectifying the mistakes and making enough consultation including with the opposition.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, P C Vishnunath, T Siddique, Mathew Kuzhalnadan were among those opposition legislators who raised objections against the presentation of the Bill.

However, the Law Minister rejected the charges and said the objections raised by the Congress-UDF were mere “political” points.

The Bill further said that the person appointed as the Chancellor shall be eligible for reappointment for one more term.

The position of the Chancellor shall be an honorary post, it said adding that the office of the Chancellor shall be at the headquarters of the University. The University shall provide such officers and employees as may be necessary for the smooth functioning of his office.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coach Soch | FinFluencers: What code of conduct should we have?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A financial influencer or ‘FinFluencer’, is a person who gives information and advice to investors on financial topics — usually on stock market trading, personal investments like mutual funds and  insurance, primarily on various social media platforms. They might be compensated by the business offering the product or service. 

Recently, on the sidelines of an industry conference, a senior official of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) indicated that they are working in forming guidelines for ‘finfluencers’. They have reason to worry that such unregulated and unlicensed self appointed advisors are putting consumers financial investment at risk.

Current Challenges 

For the sake of transparency, and tracking all the influencers, one needs to assume that any code of conduct will also include all influencers from the mainstream media (TV, Print, Digital). 

Almost every Indian business TV channel offers stock-tips. Many TV anchors run stock discussion or pure corporate results programs during trading hours, and are influential in their own right. Same argument can be made for those writing about specific companies in print or other digital media platforms. 

Media-journalists (oxymoron ?), thanks to their “informant network”, might have access to inside news about the companies. Is there any code, importantly traceable and implementable, to check if they misuse such info – especially to influence financial outcomes – for their personal gain or to their employer ? With corporate ownership of media space increasing further, how does one sift content from lens if the media owner is benefiting from content promoted ? 

But then, some of those influentials (or media elites) might even take umbrage with this very idea and claim that their “independence and constitutional right to work” will be impacted by such a (potential) regulatory code. While there has to be respect for independence of journalism, the sector cannot use that veneer to peddle content or commentary, that influence financial / investment decisions.

Global regulatory learnings

In Australia, finfluencers could face up to five years in jail, if they provide financial advice without a prior license. 

The European Securities and Markets Authority has defined what constitutes investment recommendations, how to post those advice on social media, and has spelt out penalties for any breach. 

Earlier this year, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) informed its consumers with a letter stating that “ among the financial influencers, who regularly and frequently post information and investment tips” and that there are “many self-proclaimed experts on the go” in addition to genuine experts. 

Singaporean and Chinese regulators also have guidelines for FinFluencers. While, the Dutch Financial Supervisory Authority (Autoriteit Financiële Markten – AFM) did a research and published its findings saying; “There are only a few finfluencers who post neutrally and there is often a lack of transparency.” 

First Principles for a code of conduct :

1. Definition of FinFluencers : should be clear, stand test of judicial – regulatory scrutiny. Should cover all mediums that has consumer access for financial – investment communication.
2. Content definition : is critical. It should cover all forms of content – right from advertisements, brochures, data put up on websites or social media, endorsements by celebrities or brand ambassadors, news programs in mainstream media that promote any specific view about a financial investment.
3. Consumer protection : in an era where attention spans are lesser, and where consumers believe in everything that’s fashionably presented in the media, especially social media, isnt it unfair to expect the regulator to protect the consumers from themselves ? 
4. The need to have transparency and be data-led communication : Assumably the consumers have limited knowledge about financial products and services, or who may be financially vulnerable – any code of conduct should ensure that any financial & investment should be “truthful, balanced, data-led”. 
5. “Will you sell this to your sibling” : test is a simple logic that can be embedded into a code of conduct. If any influencer won’t adopt their own advice for their investments, then they cannot be giving it.

Regulations could be effective, only when the financial regulators have adequate technological framework for proactive real-time market surveillance capabilities, and in-house talent to assess such data into insights to take necessary consumer protection measures. And importantly to carry ahead with regulatory provisions to hold such offenders accountable, quickly.

Hopefully, it starts with human values and self regulation. Well, let’s assume that it’s missing or defunct. And, moral righteousness!! Well that’s for another day. 

So, the likely Code of Conduct 

1. Everyone including mainstream journalists, TV anchors and guest panellists, social media commentators – who speak or write on anything around financial outcomes related to any investments should be registered investment advisors. This should even include even those who write in print / digital media about personal finance and investments. 
2. All such content could carry disclosures about capability and registration details of those commentators. Every content should disclose the commentator’s investment or monetary link to the content.
3. The regulator should define all financial products, services, investment boundaries of such products and services which should be covered by any Finfluencer code. It ideally should include traditional banking, insurance, Mutual funds, AIF offerings, loan products including housing, unsecured, secured, BNPL products, share trading, opinion about any listed entity, forex trading, cryptocurrencies and futures options. 
4. Taking a leaf from what the regulator expects from directors and KMPs of asset management industry – can those designated as influencers by the regulator, declare their investment portfolio periodically ?
5. Assuming that the regulator will have / create their internal bandwidth, can they create a register of FinFluencers and build up that register over time ?
6. Define clearly, without any ambiguity, what constitutes financial and  investment recommendations, and have penalties for any breach. Importantly the regulator should have legal authority for the same (with no offence meant, the bark and bite should go together).
7. Constitute a real-time digital supervisory mechanism for the above regulations to be tracked. If regulator waits only for whistle blowers or complainants to show them the offenders, the rules might end up being tilted in favour of big / influential media houses. 
8. Institute an easier way for complainants to send complaints, without any ostracisation if complaint is found incorrect. While SROs can be tasked with forwarding complaints to the regulator, the current SROs like ASCI don’t have a say in media content (except for advertising content).

However, the larger challenge is this: With regulators (the executive) being one of the original Four pillars of democracy, can they effectively counter undue influence of one of the other original four pillars — the traditional media? 

With supervisory tech (SupTech), it seems possible. But the regulatory independence and supervisory will, to take such a step, as well as the political nuance of such a possibility, is as good as your guess.

— Dr. Srinath Sridharan is a Corporate Advisor, Leadership Coach & Author

Read his previous columns here

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow