SEBI has announced the formation of a six-member high-level committee (HLC) headed by Pratyush Sinha, a retired IAS officer and former chief vigilance commissioner.

The committee will review the 2008 code of conduct framework to identify any gaps in the capital market regulator’s conflict of interest disclosures, and related matters regarding property, investments and liabilities of its officials and board members.

“The HLC will comprehensively review and recommend enhancements to the existing framework for managing conflicts of interest, disclosures and related issues to uphold the highest standards of transparency, accountability and ethical conduct among SEBI’s members and officials,” SEBI said in a press release on Wednesday.

New framework

Further, the committee will recommend a framework to prevent any conflicts of interest, including a recusal policy, restriction of investments, making disclosures public, maintaining digital records and monitoring.

It will also come up with a framework to address and examine complaints by the public, pertaining to conflict of interest and disclosures. “The HLC is expected to submit its recommendations within three months from the date of constitution, which shall be placed before the board for consideration,” SEBI said.

Injeti Srinivas, former secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and ex-chairman of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), has been appointed as the committee’s vice-chairman.

Other members of the HLC are Uday Kotak, founder and director of Kotak Mahindra Bank; G Mahalingam, the former executive director of Reserve Bank of India and former whole-time member of SEBI; Sarit Jafa, IA & AS and former deputy comptroller and auditor general, and Professor R Narayanaswamy, former professor of IIM, Bangalore.

The decision, undertaken in the recent SEBI board meeting — under the new Chairperson, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, follows a series of conflict of interest allegations raised against the institution’s former chief Madhabi Puri Buch last year.

Published on April 9, 2025