JUDGMENT :

Nitin Jamdar, J.

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard finally by consent of parties.

2. The Petitioner, JK Paper Limited, requested the Respondent- Securities and Exchange Board of India for a personal hearing regarding exemption application filed by it under a regulation governing employee stock options. The Board of SEBI refused the request for personal hearing and permitted additional written submissions. Petitioner has filed this petition to direct the Board to grant a personal hearing.

3. The question therefore is: whether the Board is obliged to grant a personal hearing to the petitioner while considering an exemption application under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Share Based Employee Benefits) Regulations, 2014. The answer is-No. The facts and the reasons for this conclusion are as follows.

4. The Petitioner- JK Paper Limited is a public limited company. The Petitioner manufactures and supplies paper and board. The Respondent, Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI, is established under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.

5. SEBI, in the year 1999, had framed "Securities and Exchange Board of India (Employee Stock Option