₹173 Cr from Insider Trading in Indian Energy Exchange Shares: SEBI Imposes Market & Banking Restrictions on Noticees
Eight noticees are facing market ban and freezing of bank/demat debit from the SEBI and 21-day window to reply.
The Securities andExchange Board of India (SEBI) recently passed an ex-parte interim order restraining eight connected individuals from dealing in securities and freezing alleged unlawful gains of ₹173.14 crore, after investigations revealed that insider trading was done involving the shares of Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX).
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The share price of IEX faced a sharp 29.58% fall on July 24, 2025 after the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) issued an order introducing market coupling in India’s power exchanges on July 23, 2025. By the CERC order, the role of the IEX in “price discovery” - determining the actual market price of electricity was diluted. Such divesting of power if the IEX was deemed to negatively affect the company’s trading volumes.
SEBI took cognizance of the price drop and conducted a suo motu examination into the same on suspicion of information leakage and inadvertently, insider trading.
The preliminary investigation by SEBI revealed that the eight individuals - Bhoovan Singh, Amarjit Singh Soran, Amita Soran, Anita, Narender Kumar, Virender Singh, Bindu Sharma and Sanjeev Kumar had traded heavily in IEX put options between July 21 and 28, 2025, despite having minimal or no prior activity in the derivatives market.
The trades yielded an alleged profit of ₹173.14 crore, which SEBI found to be linked to unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI) that was leaked from within CERC prior to the public announcement.
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As per SEBI’s findings, the unpublished price information had originated within the Economics Division of the CERC where extensive deliberations for implementing market coupling had occurred.
The information was allegedly transmitted to Bhoovan Singh through personal communication with a senior CERC official, and later disseminated via messaging applications such as Signal and WhatsApp. Digital evidence seized during a search and seizure operation conducted by SEBI between September 18 and 20, 2025 revealed that Bhoovan Singh circulated internal CERC documents and committee minutes to associates through a WhatsApp group titled “OTC”.
Consequently, it was noted that Bhoovan Singh and his family, along with close business associates, built large derivative positions in IEX anticipating a fall in prices. SEBI observed that all such trades occurred during the UPSI period from July 1 to July 23, 2025 and that the positions were squared off immediately after the public release of the CERC order.
Holding that the noticees acted made such conduct while in possession of UPSI and earned disproportionate profits, SEBI found a prima facie case of violation of Regulations 3(2) and 4(1) of the Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) Regulations, 2015 and Sections 12A(d) and (e) of the SEBI Act. Accordingly, SEBI directed the impounding of profits and imposed market and banking restrictions on the notices to prevent further dissipation of funds.
Whole Time Member Kamlesh C. Varshney directed that the impugned proceeds be deposited in fixed deposits with a lien marked in favour of SEBI.
The interim order also provides the noticees with a time of 21 days to file their replies and request a personal hearing against the proceedings . The investigation is continuing, with SEBI reserving the right to issue a final order determining penalties, disgorgement and further directions upon completion of the inquiry.
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