High-frequency trading firm Jane Street has accused the Securities and Exchange Board of India of retrospectively changing the terms of its market manipulation probe, as oral hearings before the Securities Appellate Tribunal concluded on Thursday.
Jane Street's counsel told the tribunal the firm was seeking order logs from the regulator — including counterparty details, timestamps, prices and quantities — which it said were relevant to its defence. SEBI responded that it had already provided all the information it had relied upon at this stage, adding that counterparty information had been redacted because it was irrelevant, since there was no allegation of collusion with counterparties.
Written submissions next week; matter may return on October 21
The tribunal is expected to receive written submissions next week and could take up the matter again on October 21. Jane Street's counsel said the firm had never been told what constituted "large" positions after the National Stock Exchange's caution notice of February 2025, and maintained that the scale of trading did not itself amount to manipulation.
The dispute centres on SEBI's July 2025 ex-parte interim order, which accused Jane Street and its group entities of manipulating constituents of the NSE's Bank Nifty index to profit unfairly from derivative positions. SEBI directed the impounding of Rs 4,843 crore in alleged unlawful gains and temporarily barred the firm from the Indian market. Jane Street has since deposited the disputed sum in escrow and halted its proprietary trading operations in India while contesting the proceedings.
The case is being watched closely by global market participants as one of the largest enforcement actions in Indian market history.
Sources: Business Standard, Sebi changed goalposts, seeks order logs: Trading firm Jane Street to SAT · The Economic Times, Jane Street hits back at Sebi's allegations, says 'regulator changed the goal posts'
Jane Street's counsel told the tribunal the firm was seeking order logs from the regulator — including counterparty details, timestamps, prices and quantities — which it said were relevant to its defence. SEBI responded that it had already provided all the information it had relied upon at this stage, adding that counterparty information had been redacted because it was irrelevant, since there was no allegation of collusion with counterparties.
Written submissions next week; matter may return on October 21
The tribunal is expected to receive written submissions next week and could take up the matter again on October 21. Jane Street's counsel said the firm had never been told what constituted "large" positions after the National Stock Exchange's caution notice of February 2025, and maintained that the scale of trading did not itself amount to manipulation.
The dispute centres on SEBI's July 2025 ex-parte interim order, which accused Jane Street and its group entities of manipulating constituents of the NSE's Bank Nifty index to profit unfairly from derivative positions. SEBI directed the impounding of Rs 4,843 crore in alleged unlawful gains and temporarily barred the firm from the Indian market. Jane Street has since deposited the disputed sum in escrow and halted its proprietary trading operations in India while contesting the proceedings.
The case is being watched closely by global market participants as one of the largest enforcement actions in Indian market history.
Sources: Business Standard, Sebi changed goalposts, seeks order logs: Trading firm Jane Street to SAT · The Economic Times, Jane Street hits back at Sebi's allegations, says 'regulator changed the goal posts'
