SEBI has debarred financial services firm Seagull Leafin and its four directors from trading in stock markets for allegedly issuing duplicate shares.

" SEBI restraining Seagull Leafin Limited and its directors Philips Amolik, S R Pujari, Rajkumar Sharma and Vinodbhai D Patel from accessing the securities market and also prohibiting them from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in the securities market,"market regulator said in an order.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India further said that it is apparent that the company and its directors are evading the process of law, inspite of their knowledge about the duplicate shares circulating in the market.

The company has total listed shares of 5.01 crore In 1996, the Narcotics Control Bureau of Mumbai seized some shares of the company and given it to income tax department.

The income tax department had in its custody 3.2 crore shares which means that the shares of the company in electronic form should have been 1.81 crore

However, it was found by Bombay Stock Exchange that the total shares held in electronic form in depositories were over 2.63 crore