The tribunal, chaired by Justice PS Dinesh Kumar, in its verbatim order maintained the status quo and expressed shock over SEBI’s order asking Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy and Avadhut Sathe to deposit ₹546 crore after their accounts were frozen.
SAT was hearing an appeal filed by ASTAPL, Avadhut Sathe and his wife Gouri Sathe, against a December 4 SEBI order restraining Avadhut Sathe and the trading academy from trading, collecting fees from students and asking them to deposit an amount of ₹546 crore.
The SEBI, in its order, had accused them of providing investment advice and research analysts in the garb of running a trading academy. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for January 9.
Sathe was represented by senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas, senior counsel Gaurav Joshi and CK Legal. SEBI was represented by senior advocate Chetan Kapadia.
Speaking on behalf of Sathe, Dwarkadas told SAT that SEBI had passed an ex-parte order directing them to deposit ₹546 crore within 15 days after freezing their bank and demat accounts.
The senior counsel also pointed out to the court that out of 3.5 lakh students undergoing training at Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy, SEBI had relied on the complaints of only 12 students.
Dwarkadas said SEBI had built the entire investigation around ASTA’s use of real-time data while providing education. “How can you teach a child to swim without going into the water?” he asked.
He pointed out that under the SEBI Act, a party has 45 days to file an appeal. However, SEBI had given ASTA just 21 days to file a response and only 15 days to deposit Rs 546 crore while immediately freezing their bank accounts.
Seeking a stay on the SEBI order, he told the bank that ASTA had monthly expenses of ₹5.25 crore and with their bank accounts frozen, they were unable to meet the expenses.
However, the SEBI side pointed out that of the total expenditure, ₹2 crore for advertisements and 1 crore for seminar expenses may not be considered necessary. SEBI had accused the academy of running unregistered investment advisory (IA) and research analyst (RA) services while projecting itself as a stock market education platform.
After hearing both sides, SAT issued an interim order to enable the appellants to manage their accounts to meet the monthly expenses of running the academy.
SAT stated in its order, “Considering the intervening holidays, we direct that the appellant is allowed to withdraw ₹2.25 crore for this month.” Bank accounts will be released to that extent.
Published on December 19, 2025
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