SAT will get new bench in Delhi

A new bench of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) might be established and begin operation this year. The only bench at present is in Mumbai.

The idea was proposed in the Union Budget last year, of amending the Sebi Act of 1992 to enable more benches, to expedite decisions on cases pertaining to the securities markets.

The proposed bench is expected to deal with matters pertaining to companies based out of the northern states. There will be a judicial member and technical member, beside support staff. The bench in Mumbai has a presiding officer and two other members.

Apart from appeals against decisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the appellate body has begun hearing appeals against orders issued by the insurance and pensions regulators, from 2015. As a result, the number of cases are likely to increase in the coming months.

“On an average, the tribunal takes about a year to dispose of cases. A new bench will help,” said R S Loona, partner at Dhaval Vussonji Alliance and former executive director at Sebi. \"Litigants from north India will benefit, as they will no longer have to travel to Mumbai for their cases.\"

SAT was established under Section 15K of the Sebi Act of 1992. Its own orders may be appealed at the Supreme Court.

The number of appeals filed before it against Sebi orders were 591 in 2015-16, up from 520 in 2014-15 and 182 in 201314. Pendency rose from 86 in 2012-13 to 423 in 2015-16. Sebi’s success rate in SAT was 90 per cent for 2014-15.

Loona says another challenge before SAT will be to widen its expertise in dealing with cases pertaining to sectors such as insurance and commodities. J N Gupta, former executive director at Sebi, adds it would be important for both SAT benches to maintain a standard of uniformity in their judgements.