Policy:
1. Preface
a.
The Company believes in the conduct of the affairs of its constituents
in a fair and transparent manner by adopting highest standards of
professionalism, honesty, integrity and ethical behavior. Towards this
end, the Company has adopted the Code of Conduct (“the Code”),
which lays down the principles and standards that should govern the
actions of the Company and its employees. Any actual or potential
violation of the Code, howsoever insignificant or perceived as such,
would be a matter of serious concern for the Company. The role of the
employees in pointing out such violations of the Code cannot be
undermined. There is a provision under the Code requiring employees to
report violations, which states:
Reporting Concerns:
Every
employee of a Creative Eye Limited Company shall promptly report to the
management any actual or possible violation of the Code or an event he
becomes aware of that could affect the business or reputation of his or
any other Company.
b. As per the amended
Clause 49 (F) (1) of the Listing Agreement published on 17th, April,
2014 which is coming in to effect from 1st of October, 2014 between
listed companies and the Stock Exchanges which inter alia,
provides for a mandatory requirement for all listed companies to
establish a mechanism called ‘Vigil Mechanism or Whistle Blower Policy’
for the directors and employees of the Company to report concern about
unethical behaviour, actual or suspected fraud or violation of the
company’s code of conduct or ethics policy.
c. Accordingly, this Whistle Blower Policy (“the Policy”) has been
formulated with a view to provide a mechanism for employees of the
Company to approach the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Company.
2. Definitions
The
definitions of some of the key terms used in this Policy are given
below. Capitalised terms not defined herein shall have the meaning
assigned to them under the Code.P
a.“Audit
Committee” means the Audit Committee constituted by the Board of
Directors of the Company in accordance with Section 177 of the
Companies Act,2013 and read with Clause 49 (F) (III) of the Listing
Agreement with the Stock Exchanges.
b.“Employee” means every employee of the Company, including the Directors in the employment of the Company.
c.“Code” means the Code of Conduct.
d.“Investigators” mean those persons authorised, appointed, consulted or
approached by the Chairman of the Audit Committee and include the
auditors of the Company and the police.
e.
“Protected Disclosure” means any communication made in good faith that
discloses or demonstrates information that may evidence unethical or
improper activity.
f.“Subject” means a person
against or in relation to whom a Protected Disclosure has been made or
evidence gathered during the course of an investigation.
g.“Whistle Blower” means an Employee making a Protected Disclosure under this Policy.
3. Scope:
a.The Whistle Blower’s role is that of a reporting party with reliable
information with supportive evidence. They are not required or expected
to act as investigators or finders of facts, nor would they determine
the appropriate corrective or remedial action that may be warranted in
a given case.
b. Whistle Blowers should not act on
their own in conducting any investigative activities, nor do they have
a right to participate in any investigative activities other than as
requested by the Chairman of the Audit Committee or the Investigators.
c.
Protected Disclosure will be appropriately dealt with by the Chairman
of the Audit Committee, as the case may be.
4. Eligibility:
All Employees of the Company are eligible to make Protected Disclosures under the Policy. The Protected Disclosures may be in relation to matters concerning the Company.
5. Disqualifications:
a. While it will be ensured that genuine Whistle Blowers are
accorded complete protection from any kind of unfair treatment as
herein set out, any abuse of this protection will warrant disciplinary
action.
b. Protection under this Policy
would not mean protection from disciplinary action arising out of false
or bogus allegations made by a Whistle Blower knowing it to be false or
bogus or with a mala fide intention.
c. Whistle Blowers, who make any Protected Disclosures, which have
been subsequently found to be mala fide or malicious or Whistle Blowers
who make three or more Protected Disclosures, which have been
subsequently found to be frivolous, baseless or reported otherwise than
in good faith, will be disqualified from reporting further Protected
Disclosures under this Policy.
d.Whistle blowers,
who reports any complain regards to any violation should have
sufficient, authenticated documentary support/proof/evidence before
register any complain otherwise his/her reporting of any case will be
considered as baseless/false and will not be under the scope of this
policy.
6. Procedure:
a.All Protected
Disclosures concerning financial/accounting matters should be addressed
to the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Company for investigation.
b.In respect of all other Protected Disclosures, those concerning the
Ethics Counsellor and employees should be addressed to the CS/Compliance Officer of
the Company.
c.The contact details of the Chairman of the Audit Committee are as under:
Mrs. Matty Vishal Dutt
D 51/52, Neha Apartment,
Juhu Tara Road,
Juhu, Mumbai- 400049
Mob. No : +91 7021115900
Email id. : exports@ladylondon.in
The contact details of the Company Secretary/ Compliance Officer are as under:
Ms. Khushbu G Shah
Creative Eye Limited
12-A, Kailash Plaza,
New Link Road, Andheri- West,
Mumbai 400 053.
Contact No. : 022-26732613
Email id. : contact@creativeeye.com
d. If a protected disclosure is received by any executive of the
Company other than Chairman of Audit Committee, the same should be
forwarded to the Chairman of the Audit Committee for further
appropriate action.
Appropriate care must be taken to keep the identity of the Whistle Blower confidential.
e.
Protected Disclosures should preferably be reported in writing so as to
ensure a clear understanding of the issues raised and should either be
typed or written in a legible handwriting in English, Hindi or in the
regional language of the place of employment of the Whistle
Blower.
f.The Protected Disclosure
should be forwarded under a covering letter which shall bear the
identity of the Whistle Blower. The Chairman of the Audit Committee
shall detach the covering letter and forward only the Protected
Disclosure to the Investigators for investigation.
h.Protected Disclosures should be factual and not speculative or in the
nature of a conclusion, and should contain as much specific information
as possible to allow for proper assessment of the nature and extent of
the concern.
i.For the purpose of providing
protection to the Whistle Blower, the Whistle Blower should disclose
his/her identity in the covering letter forwarding such Protected
Disclosure. Covering letter should be duly signed by the whistle blower.
7. Investigation:
a.All Protected Disclosures reported under this Policy will be
thoroughly investigated by the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the
Company who will investigate / oversee the investigations under the
authorization of the Audit Committee.
b.The
Chairman of the Audit Committee may at his discretion, consider
involving any Investigators for the purpose of investigation.
c.The decision to conduct an investigation taken by the Chairman of
the Audit Committee is by itself not an accusation and is to be treated
as a neutral fact-finding process. The outcome of the investigation may
not support the conclusion of the Whistle Blower that an improper or
unethical act was committed.
d.The identity of a
Subject and the Whistle Blower will be kept confidential to the extent
possible given the legitimate needs of law and the investigation.
e.Subjects will normally be informed of the allegations at the
outset of a formal investigation and have opportunities for providing
their inputs during the investigation.
f.Subjects
shall have a duty to co-operate with the Chairman of the Audit
Committee or any of the Investigators during investigation to the
extent that such co-operation will not compromise self-incrimination
protections available under the applicable laws. .
g.Subjects have a right to consult with a person or persons of
their choice, other than the Investigators and/or members of the Audit
Committee and/or the Whistle Blower. Subjects shall be free at any time
to engage counsel at their own cost to represent them in the
investigation proceedings. However, if the allegations against the
subject are not sustainable, then the Company may see reason to
reimburse such costs.
h.Subjects have a
responsibility not to interfere with the investigation. Evidence shall
not be withheld, destroyed or tampered with, and witnesses shall not be
influenced, coached, threatened or intimidated by the Subjects.
i.Unless there are compelling reasons not to do so, Subjects will
be given the opportunity to respond to material findings contained in
an investigation report. No allegation of wrongdoing against a Subject
shall be considered as maintainable unless there is good evidence in
support of the allegation.
j.Subjects have a
right to be informed of the outcome of the investigation. If
allegations are not sustained, the Subject should be consulted as to
whether public disclosure of the investigation results would be in the
best interest of the Subject and the Company.
k.The investigation shall be completed normally within 45 days of the receipt of the Protected Disclosure.
8. Protection:
a.No unfair treatment will be meted out to a Whistle Blower by
virtue of his/her having reported a Protected Disclosure under this
Policy. The Company, as a policy, condemns any kind of discrimination,
harassment, victimization or any other unfair employment practice being
adopted against Whistle Blowers.
b.Complete
protection will, therefore, be given to Whistle Blowers against any
unfair practice like retaliation, threat or intimidation of
termination/suspension of service, disciplinary action, transfer,
demotion, refusal of promotion, or the like including any direct or
indirect use of authority to obstruct the Whistle Blower’s right to
continue to perform his duties/functions including making further
Protected Disclosure. The Company will take steps to minimize
difficulties, which the Whistle Blower may experience as a result of
making the Protected Disclosure. Thus, if the Whistle Blower is
required to give evidence in criminal or disciplinary proceedings, the
Company will arrange for the Whistle Blower to receive advice about the
procedure, etc.
c. A Whistle Blower may report any
violation of the above clause to the Chairman of the Audit Committee,
who shall investigate into the same and recommend suitable action to
the management.
d.The identity of the Whistle
Blower shall be kept confidential to the extent possible and permitted
under law.
e. Any other Employee assisting in the
said investigation shall also be protected to the same extent as the
Whistle Blower.
9. Investigators:
a.Investigators are required to conduct a process towards
fact-finding and analysis. Investigators shall derive their authority
and access rights from the Audit Committee when acting within the
course and scope of their investigation.
b.Technical and other resources may be drawn upon as necessary to
augment the investigation. All Investigators shall be independent and
unbiased both in fact and as perceived. Investigators have a duty of
fairness, objectivity, thoroughness, ethical behavior, and observance
of legal and professional standards.
b. Investigations will be launched only after a preliminary review
by the Chairman of the Audit Committee, which establishes that:
i. the alleged act constitutes an improper or unethical activity or conduct, and
ii.
the allegation is supported by information specific enough to be
investigated or in cases where the allegation is not supported by
specific information, it is felt that the concerned matter is worthy of
management review. Provided that such investigation should not be
undertaken as an investigation of an improper or unethical activity or
conduct.
10. Decision:
If an investigation leads the Chairman
of the Audit Committee to conclude that an improper or unethical act
has been committed, Chairman of the Audit Committee shall recommend to
the management of the Company to take such disciplinary or corrective
action as the Chairman of the Audit Committee may deem fit. It is
clarified that any disciplinary or corrective action initiated against
the Subject as a result of the findings of an investigation pursuant to
this Policy shall adhere to the applicable personnel or staff conduct
and disciplinary procedures.
11. Reporting:
The Chairman of
the Audit Committee on a regular basis about all Protected Disclosures
referred to him/her since the last report together with the results of
investigations, if any. Shall submit a report.
As per the Clause 49
(IIF) of the Listing Agreement, the compliance to the whistler blower
policy shall be reported in the quarterly Compliances Report on the
Corporate Governance to the Stock Exchanges where the shares of the
Company listed.
12. Disclosure:
As per the requirement of
Clause 49 (F) (3) of the Listing Agreement, the details of
establishment of such mechanism shall be disclosed by the company on
its website and in the Board’s report.
The Annual Report of the
Company shall also disclose and affirm that no personnel has been
denied the access of the audit committee for to raise his/her concern
pursuant to the policy.
13. Review of Functioning by Audit Committee:
The
Audit Committee of the Company shall be responsible to review
periodically the efficient and effective functioning of the vigil
mechanism.
14. Retention of documents:
All Protected
Disclosures in writing or documented along with the results of
investigation relating thereto shall be retained by the Company for a
minimum period of seven years.
15. Amendment:
The Company
reserves its right to amend or modify this Policy in whole or in part,
at any time without assigning any reason whatsoever. However, no such
amendment or modification will be binding on the Employees unless the
same is notified to the Employees.