SC dismisses 4-year suit against Sebi chief's appointment

Dismisses petition filed four years ago by former Mumbai police chief Julio F Ribeiro and others alleging irregularities in selection process

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a four-year public interest suit that had challenged the appointment of U K Sinha as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and alleged irregularities in the selection process.

The petition was filed by a group of people, including former IPS (Indian Police Service) officer Julio Ribeiro. It challenged a change to Sebi rules in the run-up to Sinha’s appointment. The ministry of finance, the Sebi chief, and the central government were impleaded as respondents.

The matter was listed on Wednesday, for final disposal before a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and R Bhanumathi and U U Lalit.

The attorney general told the bench the Sebi rules had been further changed, which took care of most of the concerns raised in the petition. A new petition challenging the recent one-year extension to Sinha was mentioned in the court on Wednesday. It was listed for hearing on April 22 (next Friday), according to lawyers.