The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued ex-parte interim orders against Prrsaar Sampada and Chaubara Eats for alleged cross-segment price manipulation, according to reports from ET Now, Business Standard, The Hindu BusinessLine, and The Economic Times. The regulatory action represents SEBI's enforcement response to what the regulator describes as a sophisticated cross-segment manipulation strategy involving stock futures and options. Whole time member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney directed the companies and four individuals to deposit a combined ₹28.12 crore in fixed deposits pending further investigation, as reported by Moneycontrol. The six parties have been barred from accessing the securities market until the amount is deposited, after which they may trade in the cash segment but will remain prohibited from participating in equity derivatives.
SEBI has uncovered what it describes as a sophisticated cross-segment manipulation strategy involving stock futures and options, freezing alleged gains of ₹28.12 crore and barring two linked entities and four individuals from derivatives trading. The alleged strategy involved alternating futures trades to distort prices and trigger profitable options orders, as reported by Moneycontrol. The entities targeted relatively smaller and less liquid stocks among the bottom 100 by market capitalisation of around 211 NSE-listed stocks eligible for derivatives trading. The regulator examined 23 scrip-days in detail - 13 involving Prrsaar and 10 involving Chaubara - covering stocks such as Bharat Dynamics, Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties, 360 ONE, KFin Technologies, Prestige Estates, Mphasis, Waaree Energies, Torrent Power, Marico, Swiggy, Lodha, Jio Financial Services and Hindustan Zinc. The trades took place between December 2025 and June 2026.
The ex-parte interim orders represent SEBI's preliminary enforcement action against the companies, as reported by ET Now, Business Standard, The Hindu BusinessLine, and The Economic Times. The regulator examined the case after surveillance alerts raised by the National Stock Exchange and SEBI over unusually large profits made by Prrsaar in stock options alongside losses in stock futures on the same underlying stocks. Prrsaar, a SEBI-registered stockbroker and depository participant, stopped the activity in its proprietary account after NSE communications in February and March 2026. However, the restriction on the broker applies only to its proprietary account, while Chaubara Eats continued similar manipulative patterns as recently as August 2026, according to the ex-parte interim order. The entities consistently incurred losses in the futures leg but these were outweighed by disproportionately larger gains in the options leg because the options positions were much larger than the futures trades used to influence prices.
SEBI has ordered impounding of ₹22.06 crore linked to Prrsaar and ₹6.05 crore linked to Chaubara as illegal gains, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. All six parties are barred from trading in derivatives until that money is deposited in a fixed deposit account. They can still trade in regular stocks, but their demat accounts are frozen and they must list all their assets within 15 days. The six parties have 21 days to respond to SEBI or request a hearing. Four individuals linked to the companies were Ved Prakash Gupta and Priti Gupta from Prrsaar, and Saroj Gupta and Gaurav Tomar from Chaubara. As per The Economic Times, SEBI described the activity as a form of cross-segment price manipulation that distorted prices, with the firms' primary objective being higher economic benefit in options rather than profits in futures.
