No minister's nominees on SEBI search panel, Centre tells SC

The Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it had done away with putting two nominees of the finance minister on the search-cum-selection panel for the SEBI chief.

As Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said the government had done away with the practice for the appointment of chief of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the court disposed of a public interest litigation challenging change in the panel composition.

An apex court bench comprising Chief Justice T.S. Thakur, Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was told that the decision on not having two ministerial nominees on the selection panel was taken in December 2015.

The petition in the case was filed by former Punjab director general of police Julio F. Ribeiro, former chief election commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh, former air force chief Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy and others in 2013.

Addressing the court, when Rohatgi wondered how former Bombay Police commissioner Ribeiro was concerned over the panel composition, Chief Justice Thakur observed: "One is policing the people, other is policing the market."