The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament is considering summoning Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief Madhabi Buch for a performance review. This potential move, as reported on Friday, might be challenged on technical grounds, according to sources.
Led by Congress lawmaker K C Venugopal, the PAC has outlined 161 subjects for review over the next five years, including performance evaluations of regulatory bodies like SEBI. The committee is scheduled to meet on September 10 and will first review the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (Jal Jeevan Mission) based on a 2018 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report.
BJP leader and PAC member Nishikant Dubey noted that while the PAC chairman has the authority to conduct meetings, all members have veto power according to the rules. Dubey also emphasized that performance reviews should be based on CAG reports.
The move to summon Buch follows allegations made by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, which claimed that Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch were involved in offshore entities linked to the Adani money siphoning scandal. The allegations have sparked a political controversy, with Congress demanding a parliamentary probe.
In January 2023, Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of stock price manipulation and alleged that Madhabi Puri Buch was involved in offshore investments used in this scheme. The report led to a significant $150 billion sell-off in Adani Group stocks, which have partially recovered since.
The Adani Group has dismissed these latest allegations as “malicious” and a “manipulative selection of publicly available information.” Meanwhile, the Buchs have highlighted SEBI’s actions against Hindenburg Research and accused the firm of attempting a “character assassination” in response to their regulatory scrutiny.