SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch skipped a meeting called by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday due to “some pressing reasons”. Buch was called by the panel headed by Congress leader KC Venugopal for the second time on Thursday for review of the regulatory body.
Venugopal told reporters: "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. 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 some pressing reasons. So, considering her request, we decided to postpone today's meeting for another date."
The PAC, responsible for keeping a watch on the Centre’s accounts and the functioning of public undertakings, added the performance review of ‘regulatory bodies established by Act of Parliament’ including SEBI, as a suo motu subject for review.
SEBI’s performance review comes after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused Buch of conflict of interest in the body’s investigation into Adani Group that was earlier accused by the same short-seller of stock manipulation and other financial misdeeds. There have been other allegations too, including from Congress, that questioned Buch over the payments she received from ICICI Bank – her former employer – after she became a wholetime member of the body, before taking up the mantle of the chairperson.
Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch have both denied all the allegations, stating that all necessary information was disclosed to the body before her appointment.
SEBI employees had also complained to the finance ministry of fostering a toxic work culture, accusing the leadership of shouting, scolding and public humiliation in meetings.