Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) asked the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to respond to Jane Street’s appeal in three weeks, after the latter challenged the Sebi interim order on index manipulation.
In the first hearing conducted on September 9, Jane Street alleged that Sebi’s initial report upon receipt of National Stock Exchange (NSE) analysis did not show any case of manipulative trades in December 2024. However, after the receipt of a complaint from a “UAE based hedge fund manager,” Sebi ordered a re-examination in February 2025, which led to the regulator coming out with the interim order alleging manipulative trades.
It was “contradictorily concluded that appellants 1 and 3 (Jane Street Group companies) appear to be engaging in trading activities which were primarily manipulated,” said Darius Khambata, appearing for Jane Street.
In this context, Khambata cited correspondence between NSE and Sebi, complaint letter of the UAE-based fund manager, copies of complete order logs and trade logs, and list of other relevant documents which Jane Street had mentioned in its plea.
“The default rule is all relevant material must be disclosed and disclosure cannot be restricted only to the material relied on by the authority. So, if you have in your possession all this, you cannot say I have cherry-picked only the parts I want to rely on,” Khambata said in his arguments.
Responding to the arguments, Gaurav Joshi, who represented Sebi said, “The investigation is at a very critical stage. We are not going to give every single document.” Explaining why a show-cause notice was not issued to Jane Street, he said it was not issued as Sebi was still investigating the matter. “The period may be significantly larger. The scope of the show-cause notice may enlarge significantly more than what is pointed out in the interim order,” Joshi argued.
The SAT accordingly directed Sebi to respond to Jane Street within three weeks. The tribunal will next hear the case on November 18.
The New York-based firm had filed its appeal last week, claiming Sebi denied it access to crucial documents needed to defend against the allegations. It also sought a halt on further regulatory action until its appeal was resolved.
The case has become a flashpoint between one of Wall Street’s most successful trading firms and the regulator of the world’s top destination for derivatives by contracts traded. Its outcome could have implications for other global quantitative players such as Jump Trading, Citadel Securities, and IMC Trading operating in India.
Jane Street has sought access to documents including emails between Sebi and Mayank Bansal, a Dubai-based hedge fund manager who is widely reported to have alerted the regulator about the US firm’s trades in India.
It is also seeking emails between the regulator and NSE. Jane Street alleged in court documents that these communications were withheld on grounds of irrelevance to the investigation.
In its appeal, the firm also argued that Sebi’s surveillance department had already reviewed its trading activity and in December found no evidence of manipulation.