In FY24, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recovered approximately ₹75 crore in penalties for unfair trade practices, while appeals against its rulings decreased by more than 30% in the fiscal year ended 31 March. The market regulator’s annual report revealed that the overall number of appeals lodged against its rulings in FY24 was 821, down from 1,192 in the previous fiscal year.
SEBI Annual Report
According to the report, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) dealt of 730 appeals in FY24, compared to 1,131 in 2022-23. The SEBI annual report also stated that it had finished adjudication procedures against 1,460 companies through 994 orders. SEBI imposed a ₹74.88 crore penalty on 796 organizations for violating provisions against fraudulent and abusive commercial practices. It also completed adjudication against 55 entities for participating in insider trading, leading to penalties of ₹5.07 crore.
Adjudication Decisions Against Intermediaries
The report also stated that in FY24, SEBI issued 85 adjudication decisions against registered intermediaries, with brokers (33), investment advisors (16), and the remainder against various other intermediaries. According to the report, as of March 31, there were 519 cases ongoing before the Supreme Court and 49 cases that had been resolved, with 38 (77.5%) cases ending in favor of SEBI and 11 (22.5%) cases terminating against it. The report also noted that, in 2023-24, 14,198 complaints were handled, as opposed to 9,426 in the year prior.
Pending Cases
Compared to 590 pending complaints on March 31, 2023, there were 887 pending complaints with the stock exchanges as of March 31. 197 of the 342 instances involving different securities law infractions that were investigated were concluded. Throughout the year, a total of ₹74.66 crore in penalties were levied for different infractions of the securities market. SEBI clarified that it started looking into 25 mutual funds, as well as the registrars and share transfer brokers associated with each one. Additionally, it started an investigation against 13 portfolio managers.
