SEBI sees surge in settlement pleas, 700+ filed in FY25
What's the story
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has witnessed a massive spike in settlement pleas, with 703 applications filed in the fiscal year 2024-25. This is a sharp rise from the previous year's figure of 434. The trend indicates a growing preference for resolving disputes without lengthy litigation processes.
Settlement process
Settlement mechanism
SEBI's settlement mechanism allows entities to resolve cases by paying a fee and meeting certain conditions. Out of the 703 applications received in FY25, 284 were settled through appropriate orders, while another 272 were returned, rejected, or withdrawn. For these settled cases, SEBI collected ₹798.87 crore as settlement charges and ₹64.84 crore as disgorgement charges for various alleged violations such as insider trading and fraudulent trading practices.
Appeals management
Appeals before SAT
Along with settlement cases, SEBI also handled a number of appeals before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). A total of 533 new appeals were filed in FY25 as against 821 in the previous fiscal. Out of these, 422 were disposed of with 308 (73%) dismissed, 23 allowed (5%), 42 upheld with modification (10%), 21 remanded (5%), and 28 (7%) withdrawn. Nearly 62% of disposed appeals related to violations under the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Regulations, 2003.
Dues increase
Difficult-to-recover dues
SEBI's "difficult-to-recover" (DTR) dues rose to ₹77,800 crore in FY25 from ₹76,293 crore at the end of March 2024. These are dues that remain unrecovered despite all available recovery efforts. The regulator clarified that the segregation of such DTR dues is purely an administrative act and does not prevent recovery officers from pursuing them if there is a change in the underlying parameters.