Insider Trading And Its Legal Implications In India: A Critical Analysis
- IJLLR Journal
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Srajit Bali Mathur & Tarushi Jain, Bennett University
ABSTRACT
Insider trading is a process of trading securities by people who have certain material information not known or available to the public. It has heavy legal ramifications as well as ethical. Although insider trading is prohibited in India, still it has not gained the desired strength of enforcement. This paper involves an in-depth analysis of insider trading in India. Majors discussed are the regulatory framework, ethical considerations, famous cases, enforcement issues, and international comparisons. This analysis, in terms of the current approach in India and subsequent suggestions for improvement, will contribute to building a transparent and fair financial market and causing confidence among investors.
Introduction to Insider Trading and Its Ethical Dilemmas
Insider trading is described as an act of buying and selling securities of a publicly traded company based on material information that is not made public, commonly referred to as unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI). The ethical bone structure of insider trading issues relates to the fact that this creates an unlevel playing field in the financial market. In it, the inside people who have confidential information about a specific company have the kind of unfair advantage in the investment competition over other investors who rely solely on publicly available information. Such disparity not only violates the rudiments of fair play and transparency but also turns much havoc with the confidence of investors in the market. In a country like India, where the financial markets are accelerating fast and attracting a host of local as well as international investors, such transactions in finance need to be pure. As such, insider trading is certainly not merely an issue of legality but an extremely grave ethical concern that goes against the very basic principles of trust and fairness in market practice.
In the global context, insider trading is seen as an omnipresent menace against transparency in financial markets. Such developed economies have stringent laws against such activities to safeguard the interest of investors. In India, SEBI has a legal framework to curb the activities of insider trading but still remains on low-to-medium enforcement skills level. This article is to briefly elaborate on the legal framework, regulatory challenges, ethical considerations, and the way forward towards strengthening India's approach towards insider trading.
