"No person shall indulge in manipulative, fraudulent or an unfair trade practice in securities markets. Dealing in securities shall be deemed to be a manipulative fraudulent or an unfair trade practice if it involves cer

According to regulation 4(1) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018, without prejudice to the provisions of regulation 3, no person shall indulge in a manipulative, fraudulent or an unfair trade practice in securities markets. Explanation.- For the removal of doubts, it is clarified that- any act of diversion, misutilisation or siphoning off of assets or earnings of a company whose securities are listed or any concealment of such act or any device, scheme or artifice to manipulate the books of accounts or financial statement of such a company that would directly or indirectly manipulate the price of securities of that company, or transactions through mule accounts for indulging in manipulative, fraudulent and unfair trade practice shall be and shall always be deemed to have been included in sub-regulation (1). According to regulation 4(2) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003, dealing in securities shall be deemed to be a manipulative fraudulent or an unfair trade practice if it involves any of the following: knowingly indulging in an act which creates false or misleading appearance of trading in the securities market; dealing in a security not intended to effect transfer of beneficial ownership but intended to operate only as a device to inflate, depress or cause fluctuations in the price of such security for wrongful gain or avoidance of loss; inducing any person to subscribe to an issue of the securities for fraudulently securing the minimum subscription to such issue of securities, by advancing or agreeing to advance any money to any other person or through any other means; inducing any person for dealing in any securities for artificially inflating, depressing, maintaining or causing fluctuation in the price of securities through any means including by paying, offering or agreeing to pay or offer any money or money's worth, directly or indirectly, to any person; any act or omission amounting to manipulation of the price of a security including, influencing or manipulating the reference price or bench mark price of any securities; knowingly publishing or causing to publish or reporting or causing to report by a person dealing in securities any information relating to securities, including financial results, financial statements, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory approvals, which is not true or which he does not believe to be true prior to or in the course of dealing in securities; entering into a transaction in securities without intention of performing it or without intention of change of ownership of such security; and selling, dealing or pledging of stolen, counterfeit or fraudulently issued securities whether in physical or dematerialized form: Provided that if:- the person selling, dealing in or pledging stolen, counterfeit or fraudulently issued securities was a holder in due course; or the stolen, counterfeit or fraudulently issued securities were previously traded on the market through a bonafide transaction, such selling, dealing or pledging of stolen, counterfeit or fraudulently issued securities shall not be considered as a manipulative, fraudulent, or unfair trade practice; disseminating information or advice through any media, whether physical or digital, which the disseminator knows to be false or misleading in a reckless or careless manner and which is designed to, or likely to influence the decision of investors dealing in securities; a market participant entering into transactions on behalf of client without the knowledge of or instructions from client or misutilizing or diverting the funds or securities of the client held in fiduciary capacity"; circular transactions in respect of a security entered into between persons including intermediaries to artificially provide a false appearance of trading in such security or to inflate, depress or cause fluctuations in the price of such security; fraudulent inducement of any person by a market participant to deal in securities with the objective of enhancing his brokerage or commission or income; an intermediary predating or otherwise falsifying records including contract notes, client instructions, balance of securities statement, client account statements; or any order in securities placed by a person, while directly or indirectly in possession of information that is not publically available, regarding a substantial impending transaction in that securities, its underlying securities or its derivative; knowingly planting false or misleading news which may induce sale or purchase of securities; mis-selling of securities or services relating to securities market; Explanation- For the purpose of this clause, "mis-selling" means sale of securities or services relating to securities market by any person, directly or indirectly, by- knowingly making a false or misleading statement, or knowingly concealing or omitting material facts, or knowingly concealing the associated risk, or not taking reasonable care to ensure suitability of the securities or service to the buyer} illegal mobilization of funds by sponsoring or causing to be sponsored or carrying on or causing to be carried on any collective investment scheme by any person. Explanation 1: For the purposes of this sub-regulation, for the removal of doubts, it is clarified that the acts or omissions listed in this sub-regulation are not exhaustive and that an act or omission is prohibited if it falls within the purview of regulation 3, notwithstanding that it is not included in this sub-regulation or is described as being committed only by a certain category of persons in this sub-regulation. Explanation - 2: Market Participant shall include any person or entity registered under Section 12 of the Act and its employees and agents.