IPO-bound stock-broking platform Groww has settled a case with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by paying Rs 34.1 lakh. The case stemmed from a technical glitch that occurred on January 23, 2024, which rendered Groww’s brokerage services inaccessible during trading hours.

In a show-cause notice sent to Groww in October 2024, the capital markets regulator said the company failed to publish "full and true disclosure" in a timely manner through its Log Analytics and Monitoring Application (LAMA) -- a regulatory system used to report and manage trading platform issues. 

The glitch caused a complete service outage, with unavailable trading terminals, telephone lines, and inadequate staff to handle client calls.

The Bengaluru-based company has now settled the matter without admitting or denying the allegations.

In its official order, Sebi stated, “In view of the acceptance of the settlement terms and the receipt of the settlement amount...by Sebi, the instant adjudication proceedings initiated against the applicant vide SCN (show cause notice) dated October 11, 2024, are disposed of.”

This is not the first time Groww has faced regulatory scrutiny. In June 2024, it paid Rs 9 lakh to settle a separate SEBI case related to disclosure violations involving its mutual fund unit, Groww AMC.

On this January glitch, Groww CEO Lalit Keshre, on X platform, apologized and admitted the firm could have communicated more promptly. He also referred to a similar major issue that occurred in April 2023.