• Source:JND
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Jio-Facebook deal: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the Reliance Intelligence Limited (RIL)'s plea against the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) order imposing Rs 30 lakh fine for not making a prompt clarification to stock exchange.

The top court refused to give relief to Reliance Industries Limited and two of its officials against a decision of the SAT, which had upheld a penalty imposed by markets regulator SEBI for not making prompt clarification to stock exchange about the Jio-Facebook deal.

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What Is The Issue?

In June 2022, the capital markets regulator SEBI imposed a penalty totalling Rs 30 lakh on RIL and two individuals, Savithri Parekh and K Sethuraman. They were penalised for not making a prompt clarification to the stock exchange pertaining to the Jio-Facebook deal. The matter was disclosed through media reports, drawing ire from the regulating body.

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) penalty was upheld by the SAT on May 2, 2025.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi declined to interfere with the SAT ruling and effectively affirmed SEBI's findings that RIL and its compliance officers failed to promptly disclose unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) concerning the high-profile stake sale.

The top court said the SAT findings did not merit interference and moreover, no question of law was there needing adjudication.
SEBI's adjudicating officer had in June 2022 imposed the Rs 30 lakh combined penalty after concluding that RIL violated Principle 4 of Schedule A of the Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) Regulations. 

Earlier, Meta Platforms' Facebook Overseas acquired a 30% stake in Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Limited (REIL). Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries launched REIL, a new joint venture company formed in partnership with Meta Platforms to develop and distribute enterprise AI solutions in India. The joint venture was formally incorporated on October 24, 2025.

(With PTI inputs)

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