SEBI penalises three over Akash Infra Telegram stock-tip scheme

The Enforcement Action

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 20,00,000 (Rs 20 lakh), to be paid jointly and severally, on three individuals it found had run a coordinated scheme of posting buy recommendations for the shares of Akash Infra-Projects Limited (AIPL) on mass-subscription Telegram channels. The penalty was ordered by adjudicating officer Amit Kapoor in an order dated 28 July 2026 (Adjudication Order No. Order/AK/DS/2026-27/32515-32527), passed at Mumbai.

The three on whom the penalty falls are Amesh Surajlal Jaiswal, Jalaj Agrawal and Arvind Shukla, described in the order as the operators and middlemen behind the posts. SEBI held that they violated the anti-manipulation provisions of the SEBI Act and the PFUTP Regulations, and imposed the penalty under Section 15HA of the SEBI Act.

The action follows an investigation into "market manipulation in the scrip of Akash Infra-Projects Limited" covering the period 1 November 2021 to 1 July 2022. A show-cause notice dated 29 April 2025 was issued to 13 noticees in all, including the company's promoters and directors and several selling entities. Significantly, SEBI found the charge established only against the three named above; it held that the allegations against the promoters, directors, professional consultants and the net-selling entities "do not stand" for lack of sufficient evidence. The parties penalised contested the findings, and the order records their responses.

How the Scheme Worked

According to the order, the activity was concentrated over four trading days in February 2022 - the 11th, 15th, 17th and 18th - a window the order calls the "Telegram recommendation phase". SEBI found that nine different buy-recommendation messages for AIPL were circulated 29 times across Telegram channels such as "Sure means Sure", "Intraday Trading Equity Stock" and "Intraday Share Trading Equity Stock", some carrying between roughly 9 lakh and 10 lakh subscribers.

The posts, the order records, urged subscribers to buy 2,000 to 5,000 shares of AIPL in a price band of around Rs 196 to Rs 210, using phrases such as "upper circuit in 3 days" and "40% returns in 7 days". SEBI held that these statements were "falsely creating an impression that the scrip of AIPL was doing extremely well" in order to induce channel subscribers to buy.

On the mechanics, the order describes a chain. It found that Amesh Surajlal Jaiswal forwarded the stock tips and instructions to Jalaj Agrawal, who in turn instructed Arvind Shukla, the administrator of the channels, to post them. SEBI cited call-data records showing 742 calls between the first two between January and March 2022, and WhatsApp chats recovered from a seized device. The order records that Jalaj Agrawal admitted receiving Rs 5 lakh from Amesh Jaiswal for the postings, while Arvind Shukla admitted operating the five channels and receiving a commission of Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per day.

SEBI linked the posts to a measurable market effect. Per the order, the number of public shareholders in AIPL rose about 3.16 times, from 1,639 on 11 February 2022 to 5,185 on 18 February 2022, and the number of entities trading the scrip jumped from 508 in the ten days before to 6,690 during the phase. The close price rose 5.21% over the window, from Rs 191.80 to Rs 201.80. After the posts stopped, the order notes, the price "started sliding", touching a low of Rs 23.65 by 1 July 2022.

The Law Invoked

SEBI framed the alleged conduct under Sections 12A(a), 12A(b) and 12A(c) of the SEBI Act, 1992, read with Regulations 3(a), 3(b), 3(c) and 3(d) and 4(1), 4(2)(a), 4(2)(k) and 4(2)(r) of the SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003 (the PFUTP Regulations).

Section 12A broadly prohibits the use of any manipulative or deceptive device, or any scheme or artifice to defraud, in dealing with listed securities. Within the PFUTP Regulations, Regulation 4(2)(a) covers acts that create "a false or misleading appearance of trading"; Regulation 4(2)(k) covers disseminating information or advice through any media that the disseminator knows to be false or misleading and which is designed to influence investor decisions; and Regulation 4(2)(r) covers "knowingly planting false or misleading news which may induce sale or purchase of securities".

The penalty itself was imposed under Section 15HA of the SEBI Act, which provides for a penalty of not less than Rs 5 lakh, extending up to Rs 25 crore or three times the profits made, whichever is higher, for fraudulent and unfair trade practices. In fixing the amount, the order records that the officer had regard to the factors in Section 15J of the SEBI Act and to the Supreme Court's judgement in SEBI v. Bhavesh Pabari (2019) 5 SCC 90.

What Happens Next

An adjudication order of this kind is appealable. Any of the penalised parties may challenge the order before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) under Section 15T of the SEBI Act, and thereafter, on a question of law, to the Supreme Court. The order is a regulator's finding in its own adjudication proceedings, not a criminal conviction, and it remains subject to that appeal route.

The order directs the three to pay the Rs 20 lakh penalty within 45 days of receipt through SEBI's online payment facility. It warns that failure to pay may attract "recovery proceedings u/s 28A of the SEBI Act", including attachment and sale of movable and immovable property, along with interest.

For the other ten noticees - the promoters, directors, consultants and selling entities named in the show-cause notice - the order closes the matter, having found the allegations against them not established on the evidence. That finding forms part of the same order and stands unless SEBI's own appellate processes disturb it.

What It Means

For ordinary investors, the order is a documented case study in how "hot tip" messaging on high-subscriber Telegram and social channels can move a small-cap share, and how sharply such moves can reverse. AIPL's close price rose about 5% during the recommendation days and later fell to a fraction of that level, from around Rs 202 to Rs 23.65 within months. Investors who bought at the inflated levels on the strength of "upper circuit" and "40% returns" promises bore the downside.

The practical takeaway is caution around unsolicited buy calls that promise specific, rapid returns. Genuine research analysts and investment advisers must be registered with SEBI, and their registration can be verified on the SEBI website; anonymous channel operators promising guaranteed circuits are not registered advisers. Regulation 4(2)(k), which SEBI invoked here, exists precisely because messaging "designed to influence the decision of investors" can be a manipulation tool rather than information.

The case also illustrates SEBI's evidentiary discipline. It penalised only those against whom it found corroborated proof of the posting chain, and dropped the charges against the remaining noticees where the connection was not established. A party named in a show-cause notice is not, by that fact alone, found to have done anything wrong.

FAQ

What exactly did SEBI order?

SEBI imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh, payable jointly and severally, on Amesh Surajlal Jaiswal, Jalaj Agrawal and Arvind Shukla under Section 15HA of the SEBI Act, after finding they ran a coordinated Telegram buy-recommendation scheme in the shares of Akash Infra-Projects Limited in February 2022. The order is dated 28 July 2026.

Does the order apply to everyone who was named?

No. Thirteen noticees were named in the show-cause notice, but SEBI held the charge established only against three. It found the allegations against the company's promoters, directors, consultants and the net-selling entities "do not stand" for lack of sufficient evidence. A SEBI adjudication order is a regulatory finding, not a criminal conviction, and it is appealable to the Securities Appellate Tribunal.

Can the order be appealed?

Yes. Any person aggrieved by a SEBI adjudication order may appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) under Section 15T of the SEBI Act, generally within 45 days, and thereafter to the Supreme Court on a question of law.

How can I check whether a stock tip or adviser is legitimate?

SEBI-registered research analysts and investment advisers appear in the registers on the SEBI website, www.sebi.gov.in. Unsolicited messages on Telegram or WhatsApp promising a specific "upper circuit" or a fixed percentage return within days are a recognised warning sign and are no substitute for registered, accountable advice.

Where can I read the official order?

The full adjudication order dated 28 July 2026 is published in the enforcement-orders section of the SEBI website.

This report is based on the official SEBI adjudication order dated 28 July 2026 in the matter of market manipulation in the scrip of Akash Infra-Projects Limited, passed by the adjudicating officer and published in SEBI's enforcement-orders listing.