| Ombudsman_Nov09_2006 |
| 3 (1) With effect from such date as the Board may, by an order fix, there shall be established an office of Ombudsman for the purposes of these regulations. |
| 3 (2)The Board may, on recommendation of a Selection Committee, appoint one or more Ombudsmen for such territorial jurisdiction as may be specified from time to time by an order. |
| 3 (3)The Selection Committee referred in sub-regulation (2) shall consist of the following members, namely:-1[(i)nominated by the Chairman;an expert in the area relating to financial market operations to be(ii)economics, to be nominated by the Chairman;]a person having special knowledge and experience of law, finance or(iii) a representative of the Board not below the rank of Executive Director who shall beSecretary of the Selection Committee, to be nominated by the Chairman. |
| 3 (4) At the request of the Board , the Selection Committee may also prepare a panel of persons out of which a person may be appointed as Stipendiary Ombudsman. |
| 3 (5)The panel under sub-regulation (4) shall remain in force for a maximum period of two years and shall be reconstituted from time to time. Provided that any person in the existing panel shall be eligible to be included in the reconstitutedpanel. |
| 4 (1)Office of the Ombudsman shall be located at the Head Office of the Board and if more than one Ombudsman are appointed then the office of any such Ombudsman may be located at any other office of the Board or any other place as may be specified by the Board from time to time. 1 Substituted by the SEBI (Ombudsman) (Amendment) Regulations, 2003, w.e.f. 5‐12‐2003. Prior to its substitution it read as under:— "(i)(ii)experience of law, finance or economics, to be nominated by the Chairman."a retired judge of a High Court, to be nominated by the Chairman;an expert in the area relating to financial market operations or having special market knowledge andProvided that the Stipendiary Ombudsman when appointed for any specific complaint orcomplaints shall be located at such place as may be specified. |
| 4 (2) In order to expedite disposal of complaints , the Ombudsman or Stipendiary Ombudsman , as the case may be, may hold sittings at such places within his area of jurisdiction as may be considered necessary and proper by him. |
| 4 (3) The Board may provide the premises and other infrastructures including staff or secretarial |
| 5 In order to be appointed as an Ombudsman a person shall be -i.ii.iii.iv.a citizen of India;of high moral integrity ;not below the age of forty five years of age; andeithera.b.c.d.a retired District Judge or qualified to be appointed a District Judge orhaving at least ten years experience of service in any regulatory body orhaving special knowledge and experience in law, finance , corporate matters,economics, management or administration for a period not less than ten years, oran office bearer of investors’ association recognised by the Board havingexperience in dealing with matters relating to investor protection for a period notless than 10 years. |
| 6 (1) A person shall not be qualified to hold the office of the Ombudsman if he -(i) is an un-discharged insolvent ;(ii) has been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude;(iii) has been found to be of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competentcourt;(iv) has been charge sheeted for any offence including economic offences ; or(v) has been a whole-time director in the office of an intermediary or a listedcompany and a period of at least 3 years has not elapsed.2[Provided that the disqualification provided in clause (v) shall not be applicablein case of a person who has been the whole-time director of a public sector bankor a public sector undertaking.(a)'public sector bank' means—a corresponding new bank specified in the First Schedule to the Banking(i)Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (5 of 1970);a corresponding new bank specified in the First Schedule to the Banking(ii)Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 (40 of 1980);the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act,(iii)1955 (23 of 1955);a subsidiary bank as defined in the State Bank of India (Subsidiary(iv)Banks) Act, 1959 (38 of 1959);(b)'public sector undertaking' means any corporation established by or underany Central, State or Provincial Act or a Government company as defined insection 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) which is owned, controlled or |
| 7 3 [(1) A person appointed as an Ombudsman shall hold office for a term of three years and shall be eligible for reappointment for another period of two years: Provided that no person shall hold the office of Ombudsman after attaining the age of sixty-fiveyears.](2)The Board, at any time, before the expiry of the period specified under sub-regulation (1) mayterminate the services of the Ombudsman by giving him notice of not less than three months inwriting or three months salary and allowances in lieu thereof, and the Ombudsman shall alsohave the right to relinquish his office, at any time, before the expiry of period specified undersub-regulation (1), by giving to the Board notice of not less than three months in writing.REMUNERATION2 Inserted by the SEBI (Ombudsman) (Amendment) Regulations, 2006, w.e.f. 9‐11‐2006.3 Substituted by the SEBI (Ombudsman) (Amendment) Regulations, 2003, w.e.f. 5‐12‐2003. Prior to its substitution,it read as under:—"(1) A person appointed as an Ombudsman shall hold office for a term not exceeding five years and shall be eligiblefor reappointment : |
| 8 The salary, allowances, honorarium or fee payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of, an Ombudsman shall be determined by the Board from time to time. |
| 9 (1) Notwithstanding the appointment of Ombudsman under sub-regulation (2) of regulation 3, the Board may appoint a person as a Stipendiary Ombudsman out of the panel prepared under sub-regulation (4) of regulation 3, for the purpose of acting as an Ombudsman in respect of a specific matter or matters in a specific territorial jurisdiction, as may be specified in the order ofappointment. |
| 9 (2) A person shall be eligible to be appointed as Stipendiary Ombudsman who:-(i) has held a judicial post or an executive office under the Central or State Government foratleast ten years or(ii) is having experience of at least ten years in matters relating to consumer or investorprotection or(iii) has been a legal practitioner in corporate matters for atleast 10 years or(iv) has served for a minimum period of ten years in any public financial institution within themeaning of section 4A of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or a regulatory body. |
| 9 (3) Save as otherwise specified by the Board , the Stipendiary Ombudsman shall exercise all powers and functions as are vested in a Ombudsman under these regulations. |
| 9 (4) The Stipendiary Ombudsman shall be paid such fees or honorarium and allowances for the |
| 10 Every Ombudsman or Stipendiary Ombudsman shall exercise jurisdiction in relation to an |
| 11 The Ombudsman shall have the following powers and functions :-(a) to receive complaints specified in regulation 13 against any intermediary or alisted company or both;(b) to consider such complaints and facilitate resolution thereof by amicablesettlement;(c) to approve a friendly or amicable settlement of the dispute between the parties;(d) to adjudicate such complaints in the event of failure of settlement thereof byfriendly or amicable settlement. |
| 12 (1) The Ombudsman shall -a. draw up an annual budget for his office in consultation with the Board and shall incurexpenditure within and in accordance with the provisions of the approved budget;b. submit an annual report to the Board within three months of the close of each financialyear containing general review of activities of his office; andc. furnish from time to time such information to the Board as may be required by the Board. |
| null 1) Any person who has a grievance against a listed company or an intermediary relating to any of the matters specified in regulation 13 may himself or through his authorised representative or any investors association recognised by the Board, make a complaint against a listed company or an intermediary to the Ombudsman within whose jurisdiction the registered or corporate office of such listed company or intermediary islocated.Provided that if the Board has not notified any Ombudsman for a particular locality orterritorial jurisdiction, the complainant may request the Ombudsman located at the HeadOffice of the Board for forwarding his complaint to the Ombudsman of competentjurisdiction. |
| null (2) The complaint shall be in writing duly signed by the complainant or his authorised representative (not being a legal practitioner) in the Form specified in the Schedule to these regulations and supported by documents, if any. |
| null (3) No complaint to the Ombudsman shall lie -(a) unless the complainant had, before making a complaint to the Board or theOmbudsman concerned, made a written representation to the listed company or the intermediary named in the complaint and the listed company or the intermediary ,as the case may be, had rejected the complaint or the complainant had not receivedany reply within a period of one month after the listed company or intermediary concerned received his representation or the complainant is not satisfied with thereply given to him by the listed company or an intermediary ;(b) unless the complaint is made within six months from the date of the receipt ofcommunication of rejection of his complaint by the complainant or within sevenmonths after the receipt of complaint by the listed company or intermediary underclause (a) above.(c) if the complaint is in respect of the same subject matter which was settledthrough the Office of the Board or Ombudsman concerned in any previousproceedings, whether or not received from the same complainant or along with anyone or more or other complainants or any one or more of the parties concernedwith the subject matter;(d) if the complaint pertains to the same subject matter for which any proceedingsbefore the Board or any court, tribunal or arbitrator or any other forum is pendingor a decree or award or a final order has already been passed by any suchcompetent authority, court, tribunal, arbitrator or forum.(e) if the complaint is in respect of or pertaining to a matter for which action hasbeen taken by the Board under Section 11(4) of the Act or Chapter VI A of the Actor under sub-section (3) of section 12 of the Act or under any other regulationsmade under the Act. |
| null (4) The Ombudsman may dismiss in limine a complaint on any of the grounds specified under sub-regulation (3) or when such complaint is frivolous in his opinion. POWER TO CALL FOR INFORMATION15(1)For the purpose of carrying out his duties under these regulations, an Ombudsman mayrequire the listed company or the intermediary named in the complaint or any other person,institution or authority to provide any information or furnish certified copy of any documentrelating to the subject matter of the complaint which is or is alleged to be in its or his possession:Provided that in the event of the failure of a listed company or the intermediary to comply withthe requisition made under sub-regulation (1) without any sufficient cause, the Ombudsman may,if he deems fit, draw the inference that the information, if provided or copies if furnished, wouldbe unfavourable to the listed company or intermediary .(2)The Ombudsman shall maintain confidentiality of any information or document coming to hisknowledge or possession in the course of discharging his duties and shall not disclose suchinformation or document to any person except and as otherwise required by law or with theconsent of the person furnishing such information or document:Provided that nothing in sub-regulation (2) shall prevent the Ombudsman from disclosinginformation or document furnished by a party in a complaint to the other party or parties, to theextent considered by him to be reasonably required to comply with the principles of naturaljustice and fair play in the proceedings.Provided further that provisions of sub-regulation (2) shall not apply in relation to the disclosuresmade or information furnished by the Ombudsman to the Board or to the publication of Ombudsman ’s award in any journal or newspaper or filing thereof before any Court , Forum orauthority.SETTLEMENT BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT16(1) As soon as it may be practicable so to do, the Ombudsman shall cause a notice of thereceipt of any complaint along with a copy of the complaint sent to the registered or corporateoffice of the listed company or office of the intermediary named in the complaint and endeavourto promote a settlement of the complaint by agreement or mediation between the complainantand the listed company or intermediary named in the complaint.(2) If any amicable settlement or friendly agreement is arrived at between the parties, the Ombudsman shall pass an award in terms of such settlement or agreement within one monthfrom the date thereof and direct the parties to perform their obligations in accordance with theterms recorded in the award.(3) For the purpose of promoting a settlement of the complaint, the Ombudsman may followsuch procedure and take such actions as he may consider appropriate.AWARD ON ADJUDICATION17 (1) In the event the matter is not resolved by mutually acceptable agreement within a periodof one month of the receipt of the complaint or such extended period as may be permitted by the Ombudsman , he shall, based upon the material placed before him and after giving opportunity ofbeing heard to the parties, give his award in writing or pass any other directions or orders as hemay consider appropriate.(2) The award on adjudication shall be made by Ombudsman within a period of three monthsfrom the date of the filing of the complaint.Provided that no award shall be invalidated by reason alone of the fact that the award was madebeyond the said period of three months.(3) The Ombudsman shall send his award to the parties to the adjudication to perform theirobligations under the award.CORRECTION OF AWARD18 (1) Within fifteen days from the receipt of the award a party, with notice to the other party,may request the Ombudsman to correct any computation errors, any clerical or typographicalerrors or any other errors of a similar nature occurring in the award.(2) If the Ombudsman considers the request made under sub-regulation (1) to be justified, heshall make the correction within fifteen days from the receipt of the request which shall form partof the award.(3) The Ombudsman may also rectify any error of the type referred to in sub-regulation (1), onhis own initiative, within fifteen days from the date of the award.EVIDENCE ACT NOT TO APPLY IN THE PROCEEDINGS BEFORE OMBUDSMAN19(1) In proceedings before the Ombudsman strict rules of evidence under the Evidence Actshall not apply and the Ombudsman may determine his own procedure consistent with theprinciples of natural justice.(2) Ombudsman shall decide whether to hold oral hearings for the presentation of evidence or fororal argument or whether the proceeding shall be conducted on the basis of documents and othermaterials.Provided that it shall not be necessary for an investor to be present at the oral hearing ofproceedings under these regulations and the Ombudsman may proceed on the basis of thedocumentary evidence submitted before him.(3) No legal practitioner shall be permitted to represent the defendants or respondents at theproceedings before the Ombudsman except where a legal practitioner has been permitted to |
| 20 (1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation , an award shall be final and binding on the parties and persons claiming under them respectively. |
| 20 (2) Any party aggrieved by the award on adjudication may within one month from the receipt of the award under Regulation 17 or corrected award under Regulation 18 may file a petition before the Board setting out the grounds for review of the award. |
| 20 (3) An award may be reviewed by the Board only if –(a) there is substantial mis-carriage of justice, or(b) there is an error apparent on the face of the award. |
| 20 (4) Where a petition for review of the award under sub-regulation (2) is filed by a party from whom the amount mentioned in the award is to be paid to the other party in terms of the award, such petition shall not be entertained by the Board unless the party filing the petition has deposited with the Board seventy-five percent of the amount mentioned in the award. Provided that the Board may, for reasons to be recorded in writing , waive or reduce the amount to be deposited under this sub-regulation. |
| 20 (5) The Board may review the award and pass such order as it may deem appropriate . |
| 20 (6) The Board shall endeavour to dispose of the matter within a period of forty five days of the filing of the petition for review. |
| 20 (7) The award passed by the Ombudsman shall remain suspended till the expiry of period of one month for filing review petition under sub-regulation (2) or till the review petition is disposed off by the Board. |
| 20 (8) The party so directed shall implement the award within 30 days of receipt of the order of the Board on review or within such period as may be specified by the Board in the order disposing off the review petition. |
| 20 (9) The Board may determine its own procedure consistent with principles of natural justice in the matter of disposing of review petition and may dismiss the petition in limine if it does not |
| 21 (1)The Ombudsman or the Board , as the case may be, shall be entitled to award reasonable compensation along with interest including future interest till date of satisfaction of the award at a rate which may not exceed one percent per mensem. |
| 21 (2) The Ombudsman in the case of an award, or the Board in the case of order passed in petition for review of the award, as the case may be, may determine the cost of the proceedings in the award and include the same in the award or as the case may be, in the order. |
| 21 (3) The Ombudsman or the Board may impose cost on the complainant for filing complaint or |
| 22 (1) The award shall be implemented by the party so directed within one month of receipt of the award from the Ombudsman or an order of the Board passed in review petition or within such period as specified in the award or order of the Board. |
| 22 (2) If any person fails to implement the award or order of the Board passed in the review petition, without reasonable cause -(a) he shall be deemed to have failed to redress investors’ grievances and shall beliable to a penalty under section 15C of the Act;(b) he shall also be liable for -i.ii.iii.iv.v.vi.an action under section 11 (4) of the Act ; orsuspension or delisting of securities ; orbeing debarred from accessing the securities market; orbeing debarred from dealing in securities ; oran action for suspension or cancellation of certificate of registration; orsuch other action permissible which may be deemed appropriate in the facts andcircumstances of the case.Provided that no such order shall be passed without following the procedure laid |
| 24 If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of these regulations, the Board may issue such directions or clarifications as it may think necessary or expedient for removing the |