MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted a four-member, high-powered, advisory committee on settlement orders and compounding of offences. The committee will be chaired by Vijay C Daga, a retired judge of the High Court of Bombay, according to an update from the capital markets regulator. 

The other members of the panel are PK Malhotra, a former law secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice; PR Ramesh, a former chairman of Deloitte Haskins & Sells; and D N Raval, a partner of Raval & Raval Associates.  The panel will work according to the Settlement Proceedings Regulations, 2018, specified by the regulator. 

A settlement mechanism is a tool for ensuring speedy and efficient resolution of disputes. Under the settlement mechanism, an alleged wrongdoer can settle a pending case with the regulator without admission or denial of guilt by paying a settlement fee. 

In September, the SEBI had proposed to overhaul the rules governing consent settlements to make the system more effective. The regulator had opined that the time limit for filing settlement applications should be reduced from 180 to 60 days. 

At present, entities are provided with a window of 180 days to apply for settlement after receipt of the show-cause notice. 

“On most occasions, the applicants apply for settlement towards the end of this timeframe. Such delays not only do not serve the purpose of the enforcement process but also impede the expeditious disposal of the enforcement proceedings,” the SEBI had said in its earlier discussion paper.