Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Sep 06, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Sep 06, 2003 |
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Regulatory Bodies & Rulings Markets - Investor Protection SEBI norms in place for ombudsmen — To redress investor woes K.R. Srivats
New Delhi , Sept. 5 THE Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has framed a set of regulations to pave the way for appointment of Ombudsmen to redress the grievances of investors in the securities market. The regulations have held that a three-member Selection Committee would be appointed to recommend the prospective candidates to the SEBI Board, which may appoint one or more Ombudsmen for such territorial jurisdiction as may be specified. The SEBI Chairman would nominate all the members of the three-member Selection Committee. The Committee would comprise a retired judge of a High Court, an expert in the area of financial market operations and a representative of SEBI Board not below the rank of an Executive Director. The SEBI regulations have also spelt out the grounds (totally 13) on which an investor may make a complaint to an Ombudsman. This includes non-receipt of dividend, allotment letters, refund orders, rights and bonus entitlements etc. An investor can approach an Ombudsman only after a written representation to the listed company or the intermediary named in the complaint is rejected or when the complainant does not receive any response from the listed company or the intermediary within a period of a month after the listed company or intermediary concerned received the representation. A complaint can also be made to an Ombudsman even if the complainant is not satisfied with the reply given to him by the listed company or an intermediary. The SEBI regulations also provides for the appointment of Stipendiary Ombudsmen from a panel of persons prepared by the Selection Committee. While the office of the Ombudsman would be located at the Head Office of the SEBI -- Mumbai, the regulations also permit an Ombudsman or Stipendiary Ombudsman to hold sittings at such places within his area of jurisdiction. A person appointed as an Ombudsman should be an Indian citizen and also not below the age of forty-five years. The person should either be a retired district judge or qualified to be appointed a district judge or have at least ten years experience of service in any regulatory body or have special knowledge and experience in law, finance, corporate matters, economics, management or administration for a period not less than ten years or an office bearer of an investors' association having experience in dealing with matters relating to investor protection for a period not less than 10 years. The regulations have also stipulated that a person would be eligible to be appointed as a "Stipendiary Ombudsman" only if he/she has held a judicial post or an executive office under Central or State Government for at least 10 years or is having experience of at least 10 years in matters relating to consumer or investor protection or has been a legal practitioner in corporate matters for at least 10 years or has served a minimum period of ten years in any public financial institution or in a regulatory body.
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