The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) adjourned its scheduled meeting on October 24 after Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch informed the panel she would not be able to attend due to personal reasons. Buch was summoned along with other senior SEBI officials as part of an ongoing review into the performance of financial regulatory bodies amid allegations related to her conduct.
The panel had aimed to scrutinize SEBI’s handling of sensitive issues, including the controversy surrounding Buch’s alleged investments linked to the Adani Group, raised earlier by U.S.-based Hindenburg Research. Despite SEBI’s inquiries about whether Buch’s physical presence was essential, the parliamentary committee insisted on her attendance, intensifying political interest in the matter.
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This review falls under a broader PAC initiative to assess regulatory bodies established by Parliament, including SEBI and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Opposition parties have pressed for accountability from Buch, pointing to Hindenburg’s allegations and raising conflict-of-interest concerns. Both Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, previously denied these accusations, labeling them as “false and motivated.”
The meeting was originally scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in Delhi but was postponed until further notice. The panel’s questioning will now be rescheduled, with the committee expected to revisit SEBI’s role and response to market irregularities flagged by Hindenburg’s report. This development has become a flashpoint in an already contentious debate over regulatory oversight, with opposition members demanding deeper scrutiny of SEBI’s actions regarding the Adani Group’s compliance with market rules.
(Inputs – Ankita Singh, A freelancer reporter at C6N)
