Shweta Tambade
The Supreme Court has asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to assign an observer to supervise the e-voting process related to the Franklin Templeton debt schemes that were closed this year.
Simultaneously, the stay on redemption which was ordered previously by the Court will continue.
Earlier, the Bench of Justices Abdul S Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna had agreed to hear a challenge to the Karnataka High Court verdict that had ordered no interference to be made in the decision to wind up Franklin Templeton’s six debt schemes.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora told the Court on 9th December, that SEBI has no clear policy for the small investors.
However, the Court said that the High Court had addressed the issue already.
The Court will look into the suggestion given by one of the lawyers representing the unitholders, who proposed that Franklin Templeton must give unitholders the option of voting on winding up of the schemes through postal ballot or physical appearance.
Senior Advocate Ravindra Shrivastava proposed that an autonomous authority must be designated to supervise the voting at the unit holders assembly.
He suggested that a retired High Court judge could be appointed for the same.
Justice Khanna pointing out the issue with appointing a retired judge to supervise the e-voting said,
“…persons who conduct voting may be located at different places and a judge may be located somewhere else. E-voting needs to be certified with record. Hence that’s a problem in appointing a retired judge.”
The Court directed SEBI to assign an authority to look into the voting process. The matter will be next heard in the third week of January.