SEBI Chief Madhabi Puri Buch Skips PAC Meet Over Watchdog’s Functioning, Cites ‘Personal Exigencies’

By OB Bureau On Oct 24, 2024

New Delhi: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and other officials over the regulator’s performance amid charges levelled by US-based Hindenburg Research was adjourned on Thursday (October 24). PAC is the Parliament’s audit watchdog.

The meeting was adjourned after Buch informed the panel that she wouldn’t be able to attend the meeting due to to ‘personal exigencies,’ reported ANI.

“…SEBI chairperson sought an exemption from appearing before the committee which we denied. After that, she confirmed she and her team would be present on this committee… Today morning, she (SEBI chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch) informed me that she is not in a position to travel to Delhi. Considering a woman’s request we thought that it is better to postpone today’s meeting for another day,” Public Accounts Committee (PAC) head and Congress general secretary, KC Venugopal, told ANI.

#WATCH | Public Accounts Committee (PAC) head and Congress general secretary KC Venugopal says, “In the first meeting of the committee itself we decided to have a suo moto subject for review of our regulatory bodies. That is why we called SEBI, today morning for a review of SEBI.… pic.twitter.com/dv4x4FUgtE

— ANI (@ANI) October 24, 2024

According to sources, Opposition MPs in the panel were considering the meeting to be an opportunity to question Buch over the allegations against her.

The Opposition had been asking for a parliamentary probe into Hindenburg Research’s allegation that Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had a “stake in obscure offshore entities used in Adani money siphoning scandal”.

In 2023, Hindenburg had accused the Adani Group of stock price manipulation. It had also alleged that Madhabi Buch, who is in charge of probing the allegations, had a stake in obscure offshore entities used for the purpose. Buch and her husband had declined such allegations. Even, the Adani Group had refuted the claims.