New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned TMC MP Mahua Moitra over her plea to mandate public disclosure of ultimate beneficial owners and portfolios of alternative investment funds, foreign portfolio investors and their intermediaries in India.

A bench of justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan said a "roving and fishing" inquiry cannot be done by filing a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution.

"You are seeking public disclosure. But what is the purpose of that disclosure? What will you do with the disclosure? Is it under Right to Information Act? You can't have an Article 32 petition which is in the nature of a Right to Information," the bench observed.

The top court asked advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Moitra, to amend the plea and challenge the reply filed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the matter.

At the outset, Bhushan submitted that over Rs 1 lakh crore invested through alternative investment funds (AIFs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), neither the public nor SEBI has clarity on who ultimately controls these investments.

He pointed out that many shell companies are used to obscure ownership, citing examples where funds were labelled under names such as "Global Opportunities Fund" while the real beneficial owner remained undisclosed.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta alleged that the petitioner intends to disclose everything so that something can be "fished out" and a petition be filed.

The top court on April 1 asked Moitra to make a detailed representation to the SEBI on the issue. On April 1, while disposing of Moitra's earlier plea, the apex court said once such a representation would be made, the same be considered in accordance with law.

The top court then observed if the authorities didn't consider the representation within a reasonable time, the petitioner had legal remedies.

Moitra had said her PIL sought transparency and investor awareness in India's financial markets by mandating public disclosure of ultimate beneficial owners details as well as portfolio holdings of AIFs and FPIs.

SEBI regulates the securities markets in India, the plea had said, and as part of its mandate, the Board oversees the operations of AIFs and FPIs. PTI PKS ZMN

Public disclosure of ultimate beneficial owners and portfolios of AIFs and FPIs sought to boost market transparency. Petition requests mandatory public disclosure of ultimate beneficial owners and portfolio holdings of AIFs and FPIs to enhance transparency; the bench questioned use of an Article 32 petition for broad investigatory disclosure, described it as liable to enable a 'roving and fishing' inquiry, and directed amendment of the plea to challenge SEBI's reply and to rely on or await administrative consideration of the petitioner's representation to SEBI.