Smartworks IPO Case: SC Dismisses NGO Infrastructure Watchdog’s Plea

The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed an appeal filed by New Delhi-based NGO Infrastructure Watchdog against coworking space provider Smartworks and markets regulator SEBI. 

“The order of the SAT was appealed before the Supreme Court of India by the Infrastructure Watchdog. The Supreme Court of India has dismissed the appeal on August 25, 2025,” Smartworks said in an exchange filing. 

Notably, the NGO had moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) seeking a stay on the coworking space provider’s IPO. The NGO’s allegations included inadequate disclosure of inspection and investigation by the RoC, allegations of receiving funds from shell companies and some amounts through benami transactions, among others. 

The SAT dismissed the appeal due to lack of merit, following which the NGO moved the SC. 

In the previous hearing, the SC had warned Infrastructure Watchdog of strict action if it found that the NGO had produced fake documents. During the hearing, the NGO’s lawyers showed a letter, which they claimed was sent by the corporate affairs ministry (MCA) to SEBI, that showed that the company’s promoters, Sarda family, was under an investigation by ED.

However, Smartworks’ legal representatives said that an RTI filed with the MCA showed that no such letter was sent by the ministry to the markets watchdog.

As per a report by Bar and Bench, SEBI told the SC during the hearing today that the documents presented by the NGO were indeed fake. Based on this, the court dismissed the case, while reiterating its warning to the NGO. 

The bench, comprising justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, warned the NGO that any future attempt to mislead the court could attract serious consequences. “Lawyers should be the first barrier in such cases. How can you let this happen? How did you let them file such a document?”, the report quoted Justice Narsimha as saying.

It is pertinent to note that Smartworks made its public market debut on July 17, with its shares listing at a premium of over 7% on the BSE at INR 436.10. Since listing, the company’s shares have rallied over 12%. 

On the financial front, the coworking space provided managed to narrow its loss by 82% to INR 4.2 Cr in Q1 FY26 from INR 23 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Its operating revenue zoomed 21% to INR 379.2 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 313.4 Cr in Q1 FY25.

Shares of Smartworks ended today’s trading session 0.05% higher at INR 490.10 on the BSE.