The hearing on the class action suit against Jindal Poly Films Ltd (JPFL) under Section 245 of the Companies Act, 2013, saw key developments at the NCLT Principal Bench, New Delhi.
The bench issued notice on SEBI’s intervention application, seeking responses from JPFL and other respondents. By way of the application, SEBI seeks to bring on record its findings into the financial mismanagement and securities law violations by JPFL.
The Bench was informed that the original minority public shareholders, Ankit Jain and family, who initiated the proceedings have divested their shareholding in JPFL.
Therefore, the purchasers of the original petitioners’ shares have moved an application to substitute themselves, which is pending. Meanwhile, a separate intervention application by another minority shareholder has been filed and will come up for hearing later.
Intervention Application
In its intervention application, viewed by ETLegalWorld, SEBI aims to place its October 2025 investigation findings on record, alleging financial mismanagement, opaque related-party transactions, write-offs exceeding INR 760 crore in Jindal India Powertech Ltd investments, and securities law violations like inadequate disclosures under SEBI (LODR) Regulations and PFUTP Regulations.SEBI’s investigation into Jindal Poly Films Ltd from FY 2013-14 to 2023-24 uncovered major irregularities. Part of the BC Jindal Group and engaged in BOPET, BOPP, CPP films, thermal lamination, and non-woven products Jindal Poly alongwith Jindal Photo, under a joint venture, formed Jindal India Powertech Ltd in 2007 for power investments.
Post-2013-14 demerger shifting equity to Jindal Poly Investment & Finance, Jindal Poly covertly funded via INR 690.27 cr preference shares/loans during FY14-17, wrote it off fully during FY17-19, then restored INR 35.47 cr in FY22 and sold for INR 105.56 cr at INR 1.49/share to SSJ Trust/Jindal Finance, despite buying similar shares at INR 10.02/share months before.
Staggered transactions, inflated 0 percent RPS conversions, and Champak sales caused more than INR 760 crore shareholder losses, obscuring share price impact.
According to SEBI’s application, the staggered nature of the transactions prevented investors from discerning the complete sequence of events and the cumulative financial loss arising therefrom.
The application further stated that the lack of transparency regarding the interconnected nature of these dealings effectively obscured the material impact on shareholder wealth, thereby impeding informed investment decisions and in turn violating provisions of SEBI Act.
Background of the matter
The case stems from allegations by minority shareholder Ankit Jain against JPFL and its promoters, citing grave governance failures, financial irregularities, and breaches of securities laws.
Primary allegations involved write-offs of investments in group entities, poor disclosures, and deals purportedly causing heavy shareholder losses. Concurrently, SEBI’s probe uncovered violations like opaque related-party transactions harming investor interests.
The class action, intervention, and connected applications are now listed for hearing on April 30, 2026.
