Linde India CFO resigns amid regulatory turmoil, check stock reaction

Shares of Linde India rose 5% on Monday after the industrial gases and engineering player said Neeraj Kumar Jumrani has resigned as the Chief Financial Officer of the company to pursue other career options. The resignation will be effective close of business hours on February 15, 2026.

Linde India shares climbed 5% to Rs 6210 on Monday against the previous close of Rs 5909.65. Market cap of the firm stood at Rs  50,019 crore. Later, the stock ended 0.76% lower at Rs 5865. 

"Mr Neeraj Kumar Jumrani, Chief Financial Officer and Key Managerial Personnel of the Company, has tendered his resignation from the services of the Company to pursue other career options," said Linde India in a communication to bourses. 

While Jumrani confirmed that there was no other material reason for his resignation other than the above, the timing of Jumrani’s departure, immediately follows the adverse SAT ruling, raising questions about accountability as Linde faces unresolved regulatory actions.

On December 5, 2025, Linde India suffered a major setback as the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) dismissed its appeal challenging SEBI’s orders regarding related party transaction (RPT) violations. The decision was announced just hours before Neeraj Kumar Jumrani, Chief Financial Officer and Key Managerial Personnel, tendered his resignation.

The regulatory troubles for Linde India can be traced back to framework agreements entered in 2020 and its collaboration with Praxair India Pvt Ltd and Linde South Asia Services Pvt Ltd. These arrangements involved '[barter exchanges'—without formal valuation or shareholder approval, breaching materiality thresholds specified by SEBI LODR Regulations.

SEBI’s April 2024 interim order labelled these as prima facie RPT breaches. After a brief SAT stay in May, SEBI’s final order in July 2024 condemned Linde’s legal opinions, post-shareholder rejection, as 'dishonest and misleading,' asserting that these were attempts to divert business opportunities, such as hydrogen assets, to related entities. SAT’s recent decision upholds SEBI’s directives, including aggregate RPT testing and independent valuations led by NSE, rejecting Linde’s central defence.

Linde’s response to the regulatory scrutiny included a series of procedural delays: multiple SAT applications for stays (all denied by August-September 2024), an unsuccessful Supreme Court appeal in September 2024, and objections over NSE valuer credentials that led to the appointment of a SEBI-registered valuer in April 2025. Despite these efforts, SAT’s December 5 verdict, pronounced after hearings before Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar and technical members, dismantled Linde’s five-year approach to unapproved RPTs. The company has indicated possible escalation to the Supreme Court, though analysts expect prior Supreme Court outcomes may limit success. With the detailed SAT order pending, focus now shifts to the required valuation of the barter arrangements between Linde and its related parties.