SEBI chief excuses herself from appearing before PAC; meeting put off

A crucial meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday was adjourned as Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch informed the panel, just hours before it was scheduled to start, that she would not be able to attend it due to a “personal exigency," Indian Express reported.

PAC Chairman K C Venugopal said the committee decided to postpone today’s meeting following a message received from SEBI expressing Ms Buch’s inability to attend the meeting. Mr Venugopal also said that Ms Buch had earlier sought an exception from appearing before the PAC, but was denied.

`Had agreed to appear'

“After that, she confirmed her and her officials’ presence in the committee. But today morning, at 9.30 am, we got a message from the SEBI chairperson and other members that because of a personal exigency, she is not able to travel to Delhi. Considering it a request from a woman officer, we thought it would be better to postpone today’s meeting to another day,” Mr Venugopal told reporters.

“In the first meeting of the committee, we had decided that there would be a review of the regulatory bodies, suo moto, as an agenda. So, we summoned the officials of SEBI for a review of its performance. We had sent the notices to the concerned people,” he added.

The Indian Express report noted that Ms Buch, along with senior officials, had been expected to appear before the PAC. 

The SEBI had earlier written to the committee asking if it could be represented by officials and whether it was necessary for the chairperson to be present. The panel, however, insisted that the chairperson should attend the meeting.

The panel was expected to review the performance of SEBI. The Opposition MPs were, however, planning to question SEBI on the allegations against Buch. The MPs have been looking into instances where Ms Buch had recused herself over the alleged conflict of interest and also whether she has done the same in the investigations over the charges against the Adani Group of companies.

Questions on the status of the pending investigation against offshore entities allegedly linked to the Adani Group had been expected.

Buchs and Hindenberg

There has been a chorus in the Opposition for a parliamentary probe into Hindenburg Research’s allegation that Ms Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had a “stake in obscure offshore entities used in Adani money siphoning scandal”.

The ruling BJP MPs had, however, sought Speaker Om Birla’s intervention against PAC Chairman K C Venugopal’s move to summon Ms Buch before the panel, the Indian Express report said. The BJP MPs claimed that the PAC’s move to announce an inquiry against SEBI was in violation of its rules.