Bse Streamlines Investor Redressal Programme

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has resolved nearly 70 per cent of member-to-non-member arbitration cases as a part of redressal programme.

The exchange has also cleared nearly 90 per cent of the broker-to-broker arbitration proceedings in 1996-97. The exchange has increased the presence of non-members as independent arbitrators.

At present, it has 60 arbitrators comprising nine outsiders and 51 brokers.

BSE statistics show that the number of member-to-non-member arbitration cases has come down to 199 from 507 during the previous year, registering a 60.74 per cent reduction.

As on February 18, the Bombay Stock Exchange was able to reduce the pending cases to 180. As regards complaints by investors against members, while total number of cases stood at 154 on January 1 1996. The exchange has managed to resolve 1,214 cases of the total 1,518 cases registered during the year.

At the beginning of the new year, only 458 cases were pending with the exchange while 84 fresh cases registered in January-February 1997.

The exchange has, however, settled 113 cases have been resolved and as on February 18, 1997, the number of pending cases has come down to 429, of which 161 cases are more than six months old.

As regards member-to-member cases, the rate of success has, however, been slower with 814 cases pending as on January 1, 1996. Despite addition of another 4,065 cases in 1996, the exchange has disposed off 4,522 cases ensuring a clearance rate of 92.6 per cent.

As on December 31, 1996, only 357 cases were outstanding, of which 89 cases the brokers involved were defaulters at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

In the case of the 357 outstanding member-to-member cases, only 24 have remained unresolved for more than six months.

The exchange will focus on settling those cases which are more than six months old, said BSE executive director R C Mathur. The exchange has decided to take stern action against non-implementation of its awards, Mathur said. Recently, the exchange did not even allow a broker, who failed to appear in person during the hearing, to appeal against its show-cause notice. There message is clear. If the broker shows scant regard to the decision of the arbitrator, and is absent during hearings, the right to appeal will not be granted, Mathur said.

He said the exchange is likely to increase the fees for arbitrators in the coming months.

At present, there are four chartered accountants, four professionals and one retired high court judge functioning as BSE arbitrators.