New Delhi: Parliament Thursday approved amendments to the SEBI Act that
will widen the pool of eligible candidates for the post of presiding
officer at the Securities Appellate Tribunal.The Rajya Sabha Thursday passed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Amendment) Bill, 2013 which was earlier approved by the Lok Sabha.
SAT adjudicates upon appeals against the decisions of capital market regulator Sebi.
Presenting the Bill today in the Upper House, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the post of the SAT presiding officer had been vacant for some time and the government tried to find a judge as per the qualifications but was not successful.
In this regard, the government had issued an ordinance.
Chidambaram said that after the ordinance, the position had been filled up.
The government in July had appointed JP Devadhar, a former Justice at Bombay High Court, as the SAT Presiding Officer.
The new Bill would replace this ordinance.
The post of SAT presiding officer was vacant since November, 2011. Since suitable candidates could not be immediately found, Sebi Act was amended by an ordinance to include sitting or retired High Court judges with at least seven years' experience as one of the qualifications for the post.