Policyholders move SC against LIC IPO, writ petition seeks scrapping of process
The Supreme Court on Wednesday admitted a writ petition filed by policyholders against the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) that got over early this week.
Thomas Franco Rajendra Dev, Joint Convenor of NGO People First said that the case is listed for Thursday.
The Supreme Court will hear a batch of appeals and a fresh plea against the verdicts of the Madras and Bombay High Courts which dismissed challenges to the decision of the Central government to trade 5 percent of its shareholding in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) through an Initial Public Offering (IPO)
The petitioners have filed the case in the apex court to issue a writ of mandamus, to declare Section 5 of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 (as amended by the Life Insurance Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2011) to be void and inoperative to the extent the capital of the corporation is characterized as ‘equity capital’, and to declare Sections 130, 131, 134, and 140 of the Finance Act, 2021 and Sections 4,5,24 ad 28 of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2021) to be void and inoperative for being ultra vires Articles 14 read with Article 300A of the Constitution.
They also sought that Part III of Chapter VI of the Finance Act, 2021 be declared void ab initio for the certification of the Finance Bill, 2021 as a Money Bill to be in violation of and ultra vires Article 110 of the Constitution.
Among other, it sought that the respondents – the Union of India and the LIC – not to take any steps on the basis of or in furtherance of the amended Sections 4,5, 24, and 28 of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 including the ongoing initial public offering of the LIC.
It also sought that both the Centre and the LIC immediately issue all necessary communications to authorities including the SEBI, IRDAI, and the general public that the ongoing initial public offering of the LIC is rescinded in view of the orders of the apex court.
The queried about the delay in filing the case as LIC’s IPO process has ended and listing of the shares is to happen soon, Rajendra Dev said, “Earlier some cases were filed but didn’t succeed. It was only later that details about the valuation of LIC and the issue price were available.”
[With Inputs from IANS]
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