SEBI moves to recover Rs 2.64 crore in Quasar India manipulation case

The Enforcement Action

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has moved to collect Rs 2.64 crore in penalties from 20 entities it found had manipulated the shares of Quasar India Limited. General remittance orders dated 30 July 2026 were passed in Recovery Certificate No. 9155, No. 9151 and No. 9150 of 2026, formally enforcing a demand that has gone unpaid since last autumn. The lead recovery certificate is drawn against Chandrima Mercantiles Limited and a group of associated persons.

The penalties trace to an adjudication order dated 31 October 2025 (Order No. Order/AK/DS/2025-26/31761-31780), passed by adjudicating officer Amit Kapoor in Mumbai. In it, SEBI held that 20 named entities had, over roughly 20 months, traded among themselves to create artificial volume and push up the price of Quasar India Limited, a thinly traded scrip, before selling out. The order directed the entities to pay within 45 days and warned that failure would trigger recovery under Section 28A of the SEBI Act. That deadline lapsed, and the July 2026 recovery certificates are the consequence.

The single largest slice, Rs 2.5 crore, is payable jointly and severally by 18 of the entities, led by Chandrima Mercantiles Limited and Mr Pranav Kamleshkumar Trivedi. Two further individuals, Mr Mrugesh Natwarlal Ruparel and Mr Arpit Piyushbhai Shah, were each penalised Rs 7 lakh. During the proceedings, Chandrima Mercantiles and Mr Trivedi contested the allegations and denied any manipulation; Mr Ruparel and Mr Shah did not appear despite summons, according to the order. SEBI's findings are appealable to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).

How the Scheme Worked

According to the order, SEBI examined trading in Quasar India Limited between 1 May 2022 and 31 December 2023, the "investigation period". It concluded that 18 connected entities contributed artificial volume and a subsequent rise in the price of the scrip. Eight of them acquired more than 1% of the company's shares in the public category, the order records, while the rest aided the group to "dump their shares" and manipulate the scrip.

SEBI divided the period into patches. In what it labelled Patch 2, running from 10 March to 11 May 2023, the price climbed to Rs 42.36 from a level near Rs 8.65 recorded days earlier, a rise of roughly five times. On three days during that patch, the order states, the entities executed circular trades that contributed around 21%, 68% and 11% of the total market volume, trading among themselves "without intending to change the ownership of shares" and lending the scrip a false appearance of activity. Across the full investigation period, the group contributed 16.86% of the buy volume and 19.74% of the sell volume in the scrip.

The order names Mr Pranav Kamleshkumar Trivedi, together with Mr Mrugesh Natwarlal Ruparel and Mr Arpit Piyushbhai Shah, as operating the trading and banking accounts of the 18 entities. The remaining entities, SEBI found, lent their trading and bank accounts to the effort. Investigation put the group's profit at approximately Rs 1.96 crore. After the price had been pushed up, the order notes, "almost all the 18 suspected entities squared off their entire shareholding and exited". SEBI also observed the same set trading in a synchronised pattern in other scrips, naming Vertoz, Capri Global Capital and Medico Remedies, which it read as pointing to a common modus operandi of manipulative trading.

Procedurally, a show cause notice was issued on 29 January 2025, the final order followed on 31 October 2025, and the recovery certificates were drawn in July 2026 once the penalties went unpaid.

The Law Invoked

The order rests on the anti-manipulation provisions of India's securities law. SEBI held that the entities violated Section 12A(a), (b) and (c) of the SEBI Act, 1992, read with Regulations 3(a) to (d), 4(1) and 4(2), including sub-clauses (a), (b), (e), (g) and (n) for the core group, of the SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003, known as the PFUTP Regulations. These provisions prohibit fraudulent dealing, market manipulation and the creation of artificial volume or a misleading appearance of trading.

For the penalty, SEBI invoked Section 15HA of the SEBI Act, which provides for a penalty for fraudulent and unfair trade practices of not less than Rs 5 lakh, extending to Rs 25 crore or three times the profit made, whichever is higher. Two individuals, Mr Ruparel and Mr Shah, were additionally penalised under Section 15A(a) for failing to furnish information, and were found to have violated Section 11C(5) of the SEBI Act by not appearing before the investigating authority despite repeated summons. The quantum was fixed with regard to the factors in Section 15J, and the order cites the Supreme Court's ruling in SEBI vs Bhavesh Pabari on the exercise of penalty discretion.

What Happens Next

The recovery certificates set the collection machinery in motion. Under Section 28A of the SEBI Act, the recovery officer can attach and sell movable and immovable property, and freeze bank and demat accounts, to realise the penalty together with interest. A general remittance order, such as those dated 30 July 2026, is part of that recovery process rather than a fresh finding of wrongdoing.

The underlying adjudication order is not the last word. Any entity may appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal under Section 15T of the SEBI Act, ordinarily within 45 days, and a further appeal on a question of law lies to the Supreme Court under Section 15Z. It is worth stating plainly that a SEBI adjudication order is a regulator's finding reached in its own proceedings and remains subject to this appeal route; it is a civil penalty, not a criminal conviction, and any entity that has appealed is entitled to have the finding tested afresh.

What It Means

For ordinary investors, the Quasar India matter is a textbook illustration of how manipulation tends to work in small, thinly traded stocks. A connected group builds positions, trades among itself to manufacture volume and a sharp price rise, draws in outside buyers chasing the momentum, and then exits, leaving latecomers holding shares as the price slides back. SEBI's own figures show the price falling away after the investigation period, the pattern familiar from many so-called pump-and-dump cases.

The practical takeaways are unglamorous but effective. Treat a sudden, unexplained surge in an obscure low-volume scrip with suspicion rather than enthusiasm, particularly when it arrives alongside unsolicited tips or social-media buzz. Check that anyone offering advice is registered with SEBI, using the intermediary lookup tools on the regulator's website, since unregistered tipsters are a recurring feature of these matters. And remember that when SEBI recovers a penalty years after the trades, it does not reimburse investors who bought at the top. The surest protection is to avoid the trade in the first place.

FAQ

What exactly did SEBI order?

By its order dated 31 October 2025, SEBI imposed penalties totalling Rs 2.64 crore on 20 entities it found had manipulated the price and volume of Quasar India Limited between May 2022 and December 2023. Recovery certificates dated 30 July 2026 now seek to collect the sums that were not paid within the 45-day window the order allowed.

Does the SEBI order mean the named entities are guilty of a crime?

No. A SEBI adjudication order is a regulator's finding in a civil proceeding, not a criminal conviction, and it is appealable to the Securities Appellate Tribunal. Some of the named entities contested the allegations, and the finding stands only unless and until it is set aside on appeal. It should be read as SEBI's determination reached through due process, not as a criminal verdict.

Can the order be appealed?

Yes. An entity aggrieved by a SEBI adjudication order may appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal under Section 15T of the SEBI Act, generally within 45 days of receiving the order, and may pursue a further appeal to the Supreme Court on a question of law under Section 15Z.

What is a recovery certificate?

When a penalty is not paid on time, SEBI issues a recovery certificate under Section 28A of the SEBI Act. It empowers a recovery officer to collect the dues by attaching and selling property and by freezing bank and demat accounts, along with the interest that has accrued.

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

Verify that any adviser or research analyst is registered with SEBI using the intermediary search tools on sebi.gov.in, be wary of sharp price moves in low-volume scrips, and ignore unsolicited buy tips on messaging apps and social media, which are a common feature of the manipulation cases SEBI acts against.

This report is based on the official SEBI adjudication order dated 31 October 2025 in the matter of Quasar India Limited and the related SEBI recovery certificate dated 30 July 2026. Both were published on SEBI's enforcement pages.