Sebi chief Madhabi Buch skips summons, parliamentary panel postpones review meet

Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch on Thursday skipped a meeting called by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to review the functioning of the regulatory body, citing “pressing reasons”. Following the development, PAC chairperson and Congress leader KC Venugopal postponed the meeting, leading to a war of words with the BJP members on the panel who accused him of taking unilateral decisions.
The PAC had summoned Buch today for a review and functioning of Sebi amid allegations of conflict of interest levelled by US-based short-seller Hindenburg, a charge she has vehemently denied. She also faced accusations of holding an office of profit at ICICI, a charge firmly rejected by the bank. The Congress had sought her removal.
“In the first committee meeting itself, we decided to have a review of our regulatory bodies. We called a meeting today for the review of Sebi. We sent a notice to the concerned people. They sought an exemption from the meeting, which we refused. After that, she confirmed that she and her team would be present in front of the committee,” Venugopal told reporters.
“But at 9.30 am today, we got information from the Sebi chief and other members that she is not in a position to travel to Delhi due to a personal emergency. Considering that the request was made by a woman, we decided to postpone today’s meeting for another date,” he said.
NDA MPs present in today’s meeting alleged that the conduct of Venugopal was unparliamentary and politically motivated.
Panel member and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Venugopal of taking suo motu decisions. He also said that several PAC members, including those from the BJP and its alliance partners, were approaching Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Venugopal’s conduct.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, a member of the panel, wrote to the Speaker against Venugopal, accusing the Congress leader of raking up “non-existent” issues to defame the central government and “destabilise” the country’s financial structure and economy.
Accusing Venugopal of “unconstitutional and disdainful” conduct, Dubey claimed the Congress leader’s conduct was guided by political motivations as voters compelled his party to sit in the opposition benches following the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The PAC is responsible for keeping a watch on the government’s accounts and the functioning of public undertakings. The performance review of “regulatory bodies established by Act of Parliament”, including Sebi, has been added as a suo motu subject for review.
The committee is expected to reschedule the meeting to a new date. Its decision to review regulatory bodies has been approved, but the opposition’s move is expected to be opposed by the BJP, which holds a majority in the panel.
The Sebi has been under sustained attack from the Congress and the opposition following a report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research on “stock price manipulation” by the Adani Group.
Last month, Hindenburg alleged that Sebi’s unwillingness to act against the Adani Group might be because Buch had stakes in offshore funds linked to the conglomerate. However, Buch called the allegations “baseless”.
The Congress ramped up its attack on Buch last month, alleging that she received an income of Rs 16.80 crore between 2017 and 2024 from ICICI Bank after she became a full-time member of the market regulator in 2017.
While Buch has not yet reacted to the charge, ICICI Bank has denied paying any salary or granting any ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) to the Sebi chief after her retirement from the bank, other than her retiral benefits.