The top court also ordered that the Rs. 250 crore deposited by RIL during the pendency of the case, in accordance with its earlier direction, be returned. (File Photo) The Supreme Court Friday set aside the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)’s finding of fraud and manipulation by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in trading Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) futures to make unlawful gains. Sebi’s March 24, 2017, order was later upheld by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on November 5, 2020. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan also set aside the direction to RIL to disgorge Rs 447.27 crore, along with simple interest at 12 per cent per annum. “We have reached the conclusion that SAT, in its majority judgment, committed an egregious error in passing the impugned judgment insofar as the question of fraud under regulations 3 and 4 of PFUTP Regulations (Sebi Prohibition Of Fraudulent And Unfair Trade Practices Relating To Securities Market Regulations),” the bench said.…