Sebi bans PFS chairman from director post

Also, the company’s former MD and CEO Pawan Singh has been prohibited from holding any position of director or key managerial personnel in any listed firm or any intermediary registered with Sebi for a period of two years

New Delhi: Sebi on Wednesday restrained PTC India Financial Services Ltd’s (PFS) acting chairman Rajib Kumar Mishra from holding the director’s post in any listed firm for six months and imposed a penalty of Rs10 lakh on him for corporate governance lapses. Mishra is also the chairman and managing director of PTC India Ltd, a promoter firm of PFS. Also, the company’s former MD and CEO Pawan Singh has been prohibited from holding any position of director or key managerial personnel in any listed firm or any intermediary registered with Sebi for a period of two years.

Further, the regulator slapped a fine of Rs 25 lakh on Singh. In its order, markets regulator Sebi found that Pawan Singh had “grossly misused” his position as the MD and CEO of PFS to prevent Ratnesh from joining as Whole Time Director (Finance) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), which was approved by the company’s board. Further, Mishra, who has been PFS’ non-executive chairman since November 8, 2021, has found that he was acting as a willing accomplice of Singh, it added. “The role of Noticee 2 (Mishra) in flouting the norms of corporate governance in this matter is well established,” Sebi said.

On Pawan Singh, the regulator said that the MD and CEO in a company, though sitting at a high position within the management hierarchy, is duty-bound to follow the decisions of the company’s board and cannot exercise his power unilaterally in an unfettered manner. “However, in this case, the MD and CEO employed all the tricks to defeat the decision of the PFS Board to appoint Ratnesh, thereby keeping a critical vacancy in the company unfilled,” Sebi said in its 111-page order.