The Congress had earlier staged a nationwide protest in August against Hindenburg’s allegations against Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch, who have denied any wrongdoing | (Photo: PTI)
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has decided to review the functioning of key regulatory bodies in the country and has summoned the heads of Sebi and TRAI for impeachment on October 24.
Top officials from the Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs) and the Ministry of Communications have also been asked to appear before the key parliamentary panel, with sources saying that representatives of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch and Anil Kumar Lahoti, chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), are likely to appear before the panel.
Sources said the unspoken convention in parliamentary practice is that heads of institutions must attend parliamentary panel briefings when called upon.
The meeting of the key parliamentary panel comes amid a major row over US investigative body Hindenburg’s allegations against Sebi chairman Madhabi Puri Much and her husband Dhaval Buch over her alleged links with the Adani Group.
“Briefing by Audit, followed by oral testimonies of the representatives of the Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on the subject ‘Performance Appraisal of Regulatory Bodies Established by Law,” the official agenda for the PAC meeting on October 24 said.
“Oral evidence of the representatives of the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Telecommunications and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on the subject of ‘Performance Appraisal of Regulatory Bodies Established by Law’,” the report said.
The Congress had earlier staged a nationwide protest in August against Hindenburg’s allegations against Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch, who have denied any wrongdoing.
The Congress also demanded her resignation as Sebi chief.
Hindenburg had alleged in one of his reports that the Buchs owned stakes in offshore entities linked to Adani Group’s alleged financial irregularities. Hindenburg also said that 18 months after his “damning” report on Adani, “Sebi has shown lack of interest in pursuing charges against Adani.”
The Adani Group and the Buch duo have denied the allegations.
First publication: Oct 5, 2024 | 7:22 am IST