Insider trading is an illegal and unfair practice in the stock market. It occurs when traders use non-public, insider information about a company to gain an unfair advantage in trading.
This means that individuals with inside knowledge can profit from certain stocks, while others without access to this information miss out. This creates an uneven playing field, making the trade unfair for regular investors.
Understanding Insider Trading and Its Illegality in India
The main governing body of the stock market in India, SEBI or the Securities and Exchange Board of India, highly discourages insider trading in an effort to boost fair and ethical trading practices. This ensures benefits to the common retail investor.
In simple terms, insider trading is a malpractice whereby certain individuals (insiders) may trade in listed securities like stocks and bonds. Such individuals gain an unfair advantage in their trading as, due to their work or some other influence, have access to information about a company (and its stock). This information is private and confidential information that is not made public by the company in question. As you may gather, such information may be crucial in the decision-making process of investment in the company’s stock.
Plainly put, a person buys or sells company stock on the basis of information that is not available to the general public. The person who has access to inside information and partakes in insider trading may be an individual on the board of directors of the company, a corporate officer, a company employee, or anyone who has gained access to non-public information about the company.
Legal Insider Trading vs Illegal Insider Trading
Not every insider trade is a crime. The line comes down to one thing. Does the trade use secret company information, or UPSI, that the public does not know yet?
Employees and board members can trade their own company's stock. This is legal if they do it during an open trading window. The trade must not rely on any secret information.
This is why insider trading is illegal in India only under certain conditions, not as a blanket rule. The line is crossed the moment someone trades, or tips off someone else to trade, using information the public has not seen yet. (Source: SEBI)
SEBI Regulations and Insider Trading
Established in the SEBI act on insider trading in 1992, the Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations, SEBI has mandated that insider trading has to be curbed and misconduct prevented at all costs and with stringent consequences. In 2019, SEBI took the decision to hold company promoters responsible for insider trading violations if they possessed price-sensitive and unpublished company information without having any legitimate reasons.
In a press release by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, it has specified that legitimate reasons include the sharing of unpublished information about the company with lenders, collaborators, partners, customers, legal personnel, auditors, merchant bankers, or any other professionals or persons, with the provision that such sharing is not undertaken to circumvent the SEBI regulations.
Examples of Insider Trading in India
Real SEBI cases show how insider trading plays out. These cases often involve employees, consultants, or bankers who get hold of secret company information. These are real, settled cases, not made-up stories. They help explain how trading and investing rules work in real life.
HDFC Ltd and HDFC Bank merger case: SEBI looked into whether people traded HDFC shares using secret merger details. Two people settled this case in December 2024. They paid ₹74 lakh combined in fees. (Source: SEBI)
Kaynes Technology case: SEBI settled a case with the company's former Managing Director in March 2026. He paid a ₹23.43 lakh fine over an insider trading issue tied to company shares. (Source: SEBI)
Unistone Capital and Cupid Ltd case: A merchant banker and its director settled with SEBI in June 2026. They had allegedly made trades in Cupid Ltd shares within a banned six-month window. They paid over ₹67 lakh combined. (Source: SEBI)
Steel Authority of India case: SEBI issued an order on suspected insider trading in Steel Authority of India shares. This shows how SEBI watches trading patterns around big company news. (Source: SEBI)
Additional Read: Stock Market Terms for the Beginners Guide
Insider Trading - Why is it illegal?
Including India, most countries have laws and regulations in place to prevent insider trading and it is illegal to trade using such practices. Here are the reasons for which insider trading is an illegal practice in India:
The most obvious reason for insider trading being deemed illegal is that it is an unfair and unethical practice relative to other investors who trade without the benefit of insider information. Investors or traders with sensitive and insider information could potentially stand to make greater profits from their trading activity than investors who lack such information. Furthermore, the stock market and exchanges aim to enforce fair and ethical practices to all who are involved in trading and investing.
It is essential that trading, on the part of traders and investors, takes place with a certain level of confidence. Insider trading brings down levels of confidence in traders, investors, and the market as a whole.
Insider trading promotes an environment of unfairness among traders and investors who may believe the market is rigged or unfair. This would, in turn, impact market conditions in a negative manner. It is important to note that insider trading may be permitted if it involves employees who do not rely on company information that is not made public. However, in such cases as employees trading in their own company stock, instances have to be reported and transactions must be monitored.
Punishment for Insider Trading
According to SEBI, the punishment for insider trading is a penalty by way of a fine of “not less than ₹10 lakh which can be extended up to ₹25 crore or 3 times the profit made from the insider trading transaction, whichever is higher.
News on Insider Trading
There have been real-world cases of insider trading. The most famous case in the news was associated with a member of the board of Goldman Sachs. The charges against the insider included leaking information from board meetings to a hedge fund investor who traded based on the information. Of course, the perpetrators were convicted of insider trading charges.