PAC main meeting postponed as SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch skips citing ‘urgent reasons’

SEBI Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch missed a meeting called by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday (October 24) due to “some urgent reasons”. The meeting, chaired by Congress leader KC Venugopal, was scheduled as part of a review of SEBI’s operations. This was the second time Buch was asked to appear before the committee.

The meeting was postponed after Buch and other SEBI officials were unavailable, according to a PTI report.

Venugopal speaking to reporters said, “In the first meeting of the committee, we decided to do 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. “

He added, “After that, she confirmed that she and her team would be present before the committee. But at 9:30 am today, we received information from Sebi chief and other members that she is not in a position to travel to Delhi due to some reasons urgent, so, in response to her request, we decided to postpone today’s meeting to another date.”

Madhabi Puri Buch has been asked to appear before the PAC for a review of SEBI’s performance, amid a growing controversy. This follows allegations from US-based short seller Hindenburg Research, which alleged conflicts of interest involving SEBI’s investigation into the Adani Group.

Hindenburg had previously accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation and other financial irregularities. Furthermore, questions were raised by Congress over the payments Buch received from ICICI Bank, where he worked before joining SEBI as a full-time member and later becoming its chairman.

Both Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, have denied all the allegations, stating that full disclosures were made to SEBI before their appointment.

(With contributions from agencies)