New Delhi, June 5 -- Registrars of Companies (RoCs) across the country have turned up the heat on Nidhi companies and their directors for violations of company law, signalling close regulatory scrutiny over these non-bank lenders.

So far this year, 63 penalty orders have been issued against these companies and their directors for violations, against 33 over the same period a year ago, official data showed. These account for nearly a fourth of all adjudication orders issued by RoCs this year.

Breaches by Nidhi companies include not maintaining a registered office, not appointing a statutory auditor or filing audit reports, not reporting board resolutions to the RoCs, and operating without securing Nidhi company status from the government...