The government on Wednesday said that the Securities Exchange Board of India will probe into the issue of over-allotment of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's shares to retail investors to find out if there was any 'culpable mistake' and to determine as to who should bear the consequent losses.

"If the responsibility is to be fixed, we will. It is not under the cover of collective responsibility that any one can escape," Divestment Minister Arun Shourie told reporters in New Delhi, adding that 52 high net worth individuals were over allotted 300,000 ONGC shares following the public offer.

As many as 12 of these investors had volunteered to surrender the excess allotment and it was for Sebi to probe and decide on over allotment of 100,000 shares to the remaining 40 retail investors, he said.

Declaring that the entire public offer process for sale of 10 per cent equity in ONGC was completed as the proceed of Rs 10,542 crore (Rs 105.42 billion) was deposited in the government account earlier in the day, Shourie said: "The entire issue (over allotment) has been happily resolved and behind us."

Indicating that no issue would be made if over allotment was due to an error, Shourie said that it was for Sebi to find out whether the registrar or lead manager was responsible for the goof-up and if it was a culpable mistake.

Shourie, however, virtually differed with his Secretary Dhirendra Singh who said that entire issue was a 'team effort' and 'today we are not going to point finger.'

Shourie said that plea by the investors that they did not know about the over allotments did not stand, and added, "Everyone knew the basis for entitlement. It was in the press, and merchant bankers knew it."

"Those involved are large investors, who are very well-informed," Shourie pointed out.

Shourie said that ONGC was setting up a helpline where investors can lodge their grievances relating to mismatch and what was being credited to them.

To another query, Shourie said he did not foresee any litigation arising out of the over-allotment of shares to high net worth individuals in ONGC.

"There will be revelations of this kind. They (Sebi) will find out if it is due to the software, instructions or classification," Shourie said.

The divestment secretary said there were enough shares in escrow to take care of any contingency.

In may be recalled that on Monday the registrar to the ONGC issue, over allotted shares mainly in the high net worth investor category leading to freezing of depository transfers of these shares by National Securities Depository Ltd.

The trouble began on Monday morning when the registrar, MCS informed NSDL that it had over allotted nearly 400,000 ONGC shares by mistake, mainly in high net worth investor category.