On November 1, 2012, this blog had a post
on a writ petition relating to the absence of a Presiding Officer in the
Securities Appellate Tribunal (“SAT”).
I wrote a piece in the Business Standard in my column
on November 12, 2012 about how the SAT needs to be handled with care.
on a writ petition relating to the absence of a Presiding Officer in the
Securities Appellate Tribunal (“SAT”).
I wrote a piece in the Business Standard in my column
on November 12, 2012 about how the SAT needs to be handled with care.
Since then, some more facts have become apparent. One of the remaining two members of the SAT
will retire right after Christmas, which would render the SAT as a dysfunctional one-man
tribunal again – a position it was placed in, around January 2009. It
would not be open to the SAT to then conduct any final hearing, and it may only
admit appeals and grant interim relief.
will retire right after Christmas, which would render the SAT as a dysfunctional one-man
tribunal again – a position it was placed in, around January 2009. It
would not be open to the SAT to then conduct any final hearing, and it may only
admit appeals and grant interim relief.
Worse, members of the SAT are selected by a committee
comprising the Union Finance Secretary, the Reserve Bank of India Governor and
the Presiding Officer of the SAT. The Presiding
Officer chairs this committee. Now,
there is no Presiding Officer and therefore, appointment of another member,
could itself be rendered difficult, and could lead to litigation in the current environment, where any statutory
appointment is prone to being a subject matter of challenge.
comprising the Union Finance Secretary, the Reserve Bank of India Governor and
the Presiding Officer of the SAT. The Presiding
Officer chairs this committee. Now,
there is no Presiding Officer and therefore, appointment of another member,
could itself be rendered difficult, and could lead to litigation in the current environment, where any statutory
appointment is prone to being a subject matter of challenge.