DLF gets interim relief; allowed to redeem Rs 1,806 cr of MFs

Workers walk past a billboard of DLF Ltd. at Gurgaon on the outskirts of New Delhi October 14, 2014. DLF Ltd will be forced to sell assets, even unfinished projects, to meet debt obligations, say bankers, after India's biggest property firm was banned from the capital markets for three years - the market regulator's harshest penalty ever. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION REAL ESTATE)

In an interim relief against SEBI order, realty giant DLF was on Wednesday allowed by the Securities Appellate Tribunal to redeem mutual funds worth Rs 1,806 crore till next month.

After hearing an appeal for interim relief by DLF, the Tribunal allowed the company to redeem mutual funds worth Rs 767 crore in the current month and further funds worth Rs 1,039 crore in December.

DLF had sought permission to redeem funds locked in mutual funds after being slapped with the market regulator’s ban last month from accessing the capital market for 3 years.

The Delhi-based developer had made the request through an affidavit submitted on Monday to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which is hearing DLF’s appeal against the unprecedented ban imposed by the watchdog last month on the company and six of its top officials.

The affidavit was filed following a direction from the tribunal last Thursday.

The SAT, a quasi-judicial body, will begin its final hearing on December 10 on DLF’s main plea against SEBI order.

At an earlier hearing on October 30, the SAT had asked DLF to specifically mention the time-frame, the requirements as well as the end use of the fund apart from till what time it needs the interim relief.

The SAT has further asked SEBI to file its reply to the DLF petition by November 30 and directed the petitioner to submit its rejoinder by December 8 and posted the matter for final hearing on December 10.

Last month, SEBI banned DLF and six of its senior-most officials, including founder-Chairman K.P. Singh, from capital markets for three years. The company challenged the ban in SAT and had sought an interim relief on October 22.

The SEBI took action against DLF for not disclosing the details about three of its 353 subsidiaries/associate companies in its 2007 IPO filing. This was one of the rare orders by SEBI where it barred a blue-chip firm and its top promoter/executives from market.

While promoters own 74.93 per cent stake in DLF, foreign institutional investors have close to 20 per cent and retail shareholders about 4 per cent, among others.