Dissent at SEBI once again? Officials reportedly express displeasure over external candidate for ED

At a time when serious questions are being asked about a slew of serious allegations against Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, charges she has categorically denied, another top-level appointment at the country's capital market regulator is learned to be raising eyebrows. Shikha Gupta, former head of taxation at Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), is likely to be appointed as Executive Director (ED) at the market regulator, sources told Zee Business. 

Several SEBI officers and employees are learned to have opposed the choice of Gupta's name as an external candidate for the post.

"There seems to be a lot of dissatisfaction among SEBI officers and employees regarding this appointment," according to the sources.

Sebi workers want one of the several internal aspirants available to be considered for the post, the sources said. 

Questions are also being raised about the correction between Gupta and the current Chairperson Buch, whose husband Dhaval Buch has served at the private sector FMCG giant for years. 

This is not the first time such a situation has arisen. In 2022, ICICI Bank's Pramod Rao was named Executive Director at the regulator. Buch served the longest stint in her career at ICICI Bank. 

Meanwhile, US-based research firm Hindenburg has leveled a string of serious allegations against Buch, including conflict of interest and misuse of power. Many financial experts have also raised serious concerns about her conduct during her tenure at SEBI. The SEBI chairperson has rubbished the claims. 

Dissent among SEBI employees? 

In a separate turn of events, Sebi withdrew a September 4 press release that stated that certain claims of unprofessional work culture at its offices were "misplaced" after a section of its employees staged protests outside its headquarters.

Sebi acknowledged that over the past thirty-six years, its employees had played a critical role in shaping the Indian securities market into one of the most dynamic and well-regulated markets globally.

Sebi also asserted that it addresses employee-related matters through appropriate internal mechanisms. The decision to retract the press release came after employees strongly condemned the unauthorised dissemination of internal communications.