Skip to main content

Sebi signals a new trend: Summons and notices to come via WhatsApp, Telegram

By Anonymous

 Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will now send show cause notices, summons and orders to securities law offenders via instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, a move that will make the processes speedier and efficient.This will be in addition to the normal mode of communication including electronic mail, registered post, courier and fax.

 

"The law and regulation concerning the securities market and the regulatory framework continues to see dynamic changes from time to time," said Zerick Dastur, founder of Zerick Dastur, advocates and solicitors. "In an effort to smoothen the system of adjudication and issuance of timely processes, the manner of service of notices and orders has also undergone changes to meet with the needs of time."

 

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde, and Justices R S Reddy and A S Bopanna agreed with the suggestions of attorney general K K Venugopal and solicitor general Tushar Mehta that notices through email would constitute a valid delivery mechanism.It said that this innovation was needed as physical delivery of notices during lockdown periods has been difficult."This practice that has been initiated by the Supreme Court is now being followed not only by the Delhi High Court but also by district courts and also financial authorities. Recently, a financial authority in Chandigarh, Mr Ashok Khemka, has also issued a notice to a respondent residing in Nepal through WhatsApp," said Supreme Court advocate Pratap Venugopal.

 

Lawyers said the mandate of serving documents by multiple means will also act as a check against any possible attempt on the part of recipients to avoid receiving notices."Right from physical delivery to speed post or courier service to e-mail or fax to WhatsApp (now), the modes of serving judicial documents have continually evolved over time. In this backdrop, this initiative of the Supreme Court is a breath of fresh air and a major leap in the step-by-step evolution of the process service in India," Venugopal said.The 'blue-tick' feature of WhatsApp is used by the courts to determine whether the recipient has seen the service of the document.

 

"Sebi has quickly utilised the judgement and recommended to the ministry of finance to legislate it for Sebi orders and notices even in non-lock-down situations," said Sumit Agrawal, managing partner, Regstreet Law Advisors & former Sebi Officer.

 

"Indian securities market is functioning in a near 100% demat environment where mobile numbers and email ids are available in databases of depositories and other intermediaries through KYCs (know your client), effecting service by instant messaging services and email will reduce delays and increase efficiency." Agrawal said.

 

 

The Economic Times 04, January 2022

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Household debt up, but India still lags emerging-market economies: RBI

By
  Although household debt in India is rising, driven by increased borrowing from the financial sector, it remains lower than in other emerging-market economies (EMEs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its Financial Stability Report. It added that non-housing retail loans, largely taken for consumption, accounted for 55 per cent of total household debt.As of December 2024, India’s household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio stood at 41.9 per cent. “...Non-housing retail loans, which are mostly used for consumption purposes, formed 54.9 per cent of total household debt as of March 2025 and 25.7 per cent of disposable income as of March 2024. Moreover, the share of these loans has been growing consistently over the years, and their growth has outpaced that of both housing loans and agriculture and business loans,” the RBI said in its report.Housing loans, by contrast, made up 29 per cent of household debt, and their growth has remained steady. However, disaggregated data sho...
Post a Comment
Read more

External spillovers likely to hit India's financial system: RBI report

By
  While India’s growth remains insulated from global headwinds mainly due to buoyant domestic demand, the domestic financial system could, however, be impacted by external spillovers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its half yearly Financial Stability Report published on Monday.Furthermore, the rising global trade disputes and intensifying geopolitical hostilities could negatively impact the domestic growth outlook and reduce the demand for bank credit, which has decelerated sharply. “Moreover, it could also lead to increased risk aversion among investors and further corrections in domestic equity markets, which despite the recent correction, remain at the high end of their historical range,” the report said.It noted that there is some build-up of stress, primarily in financial markets, on account of global spillovers, which is reflected in the marginal rise in the financial system stress indicator, an indicator of the stress level in the financial system, compared to its p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Retail inflation cools to a six-year low of 2.82% in May on moderating food prices

By
  New Delhi: Retail inflation in India cooled to its lowest level in over six years in May, helped by a sharp moderation in food prices, according to provisional government data released Thursday.Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation eased to 2.82% year-on-year, down from 3.16% in April and 4.8% in May last year, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed. This marks the fourth consecutive month of sub-4% inflation, the longest such streak in at least five years.The data comes just days after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee cut the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5%, its third straight cut and a cumulative reduction of 100 basis points since the easing cycle began in February. The move signals a possible pivot from inflation control to supporting growth.Food inflation came in at just 0.99% in May, down from 1.78% in April and a sharp decline from 8.69% a year ago.A Mint poll of 15 economists had projected CPI ...
Post a Comment
Read more