Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, Second Edition

SEBI (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2002

Notwithstanding the regulator’s best efforts, the stock market was plagued by price manipulations and insider trading. SEBI known for its low indictment rate of violators of its rules hardly penalized insider traders and was dubbed a toothless tiger. Unscrupulous players and fly-by-night operators abounded, manipulated the system and share prices with impunity, while the regulator watched helplessly from the sidelines. In its defence, SEBI has been pointing out that the law did not give it adequate powers and that the existing penalties (INR 5,000 to 5 lakh) were too meagre to deter violators. Taking cognisance of this constraint, the government introduced the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Amendment) Bill, ...