Bourses slap penalty on oil cos for listing violations

New Delhi : India’s biggest oil firms including Indian Oil, BPCL and gas utility GAIL have been slapped with fines for a record fifth straight quarter for failing to meet listing norms of having the requisite number of independent and women directors on their board. Stock exchanges BSE and NSE have slapped fines on oil refining and fuel marketing giants Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), explorer Oil India Ltd (OIL), gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd, and refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) for not meeting the listing requirement in the April-June quarter.

In separate stock exchange filings, the companies detailed the fines imposed by the BSE and NSE for either not having the requisite number of independent directors or the mandated women directors in the quarter ended June 30, 2024 (first quarter of current 2024-25 fiscal year), but were quick to point out that appointment of directors was done by the government and they had no role in it. The companies had faced fines for the same reason the previous four quarters as well. Listing norms require companies to have independent directors in the same proportion as executive or functional directors. They are also required to have at least one woman director on the board. IOC said, BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) imposed a fine of Rs5,36,900 each on the company for non-compliance of Regulation 17(1) of the SEBI (LODR) relating to composition of the Board of Directors during the quarter ended June 30, 2024.