MISCELLANEOUS
Power of Central Government to issue directions:
1. (1) Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this Act 124[or the Depositories Act, 1996], the Board shall, in the exercise of its powers or the performance of its functions under this Act, be bound by such directions on questions of policy as the Central Government may give in writing to it from time to time :
Provided that the Board shall, as far as practicable, be given an opportunity to express its views before any direction is given under this subsection.
(2) The decision of the Central Government whether a question is one of policy or not shall be final.
Power of Central Government to supersede the Board.
2. (1) If at any time the Central Government is of opinion—
(a) that on account of a grave emergency, the Board is unable to discharge the functions and duties imposed on it by or under the provisions of this Act; or
(b) that the Board has persistently made default in complying with any direction issued by the Central Government under this Act or in the discharge of the functions and duties imposed on it by or under the provisions of this Act and as a result of such default the financial position of the Board or the administration of the Board has deteriorated; or
(c) that circumstances exist which render it necessary in the public interest so to do, the Central Government may, by notification, supersede the Board for such period, not exceeding six months, as may be specified in the notification.
(2) Upon the publication of a notification under sub-section (1) superseding the Board,—
(a) all the members shall, as from the date of supersession, vacate their offices as such;
(b) all the powers, functions and duties which may, by or under the provisions of this Act, be exercised or discharged by or on behalf of the Board, shall until the Board is reconstituted under sub-section (3), be exercised and discharged by such person or persons as the Central Government may direct; and
(c) all property owned or controlled by the Board shall until the Board is reconstituted under sub-section (3), vest in the Central Government.
(3) On the expiration of the period of supersession specified in the notification issued under sub-section (1), the Central Government may reconstitute the Board by a fresh appointment and in such case any person or persons who vacated their offices under clause (a) of sub-section (2), shall not be deemed disqualified for appointment :
Provided that the Central Government may, at any time, before the expiration of the period of supersession, take action under this subsection.
(4) The Central Government shall cause a notification issued under sub-section (1) and a full report of any action taken under this section and the circumstances leading to such action to be laid before each House of Parliament at the earliest.
Returns and reports.
3. (1) The Board shall furnish to the Central Government at such time and in such form and manner as may be prescribed or as the Central Government may direct, such returns and statements and such particulars in regard to any proposed or existing programme for the promotion and development of the securities market, as the Central Government may, from time to time, require.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Board shall, within 125[ninety] days after the end of each financial year, submit to the Central Government a report in such form, as may be prescribed, giving a true and full account of its activities, policy, and programmes during the previous financial year.
(3) A copy of the report received under sub-section (2) shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is received, before each House of Parliament.
Delegation.
4. The Board may, by general or special order in writing delegate to any member, officer of the Board or any other person subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order, such of its powers and functions under this Act (except the powers under section 29) as it may deem necessary.
Appeals.
5. (1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Board made 126[, before the commencement of the Securities Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 1999,] under this Act, or the rules or regulations made there under may prefer an appeal to the Central Government within such time as may be prescribed.
(2) No appeal shall be admitted if it is preferred after the expiry of the period prescribed
therefor:
Provided that an appeal may be admitted after the expiry of the period prescribed therefor if the appellant satisfies the Central Government that he had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within the prescribed period.
(3) Every appeal made under this section shall be made in such form and shall be accompanied by a copy of the order appealed against and by such fees as may be prescribed.
(4) The procedure for disposing of an appeal shall be such as may be prescribed:
Provided that before disposing of an appeal, the appellant shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
127
[Bar of jurisdiction.
5A. No order passed by the Board 128[or the Adjudicating Officer] under this Act shall be appealable except as provided in 129[ section 3T or ] section 20 and no civil court shall have jurisdiction in respect of any matter which the Board 130[or the Adjudicating Officer] is empowered by, or under, this Act to pass any order and no injunction shall be granted by any court or other authority in respect of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any order passed by the Board 131[or the Adjudicating Officer] by, or under, this Act.]
Savings.
6 . Nothing in this Act shall exempt any person from any suit or other proceedings which might, apart from this Act, be brought against him.
Members, officers and employees of the Board to be public servants.
7. All members, officers and other employees of the Board shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act, to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
Protection of action taken in good faith.
8. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Central Government 132[or Board] or any officer of the Central Government or any member, officer or other employee of the Board for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules or regulations made thereunder.
133
[Offences.
9. (1) Without prejudice to any award of penalty by the adjudicating officer under this Act, if any person contravenes or attempts to contravene or abets the contravention of the provisions of this Act or of any rules or regulations made there under, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 134[ten years, or with fine, which may extend to twenty-five crore rupees or with both].
(2) If any person fails to pay the penalty imposed by the adjudicating officer or fails to comply with any of his directions or orders, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to 135[ten years, or with fine, which may extend to twenty-five crore rupees or with both].
136
[Composition of certain offenses.
9A. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), any offense punishable under this Act, not being an offense punishable with imprisonment only, or with imprisonment and also with fine, may either before or after the institution of any proceeding, be compounded by a Securities Appellate Tribunal or a court before which such proceedings are pending.
Power to grant immunity.
9B. (1) The Central Government may, on a recommendation by the Board, if the Central Government is satisfied, that any person, who is alleged to have violated any of the provisions of this Act or the rules or the regulations made there under, has made a full and true disclosure in respect of the alleged violation, grant to such person, subject to such conditions as it may think fit to impose, immunity from prosecution for any offense under this Act, or the rules or the regulations made thereunder or also from the imposition of any penalty under this Act with respect to the alleged violation:
Provided that no such immunity shall be granted by the Central Government in cases where the proceedings for the prosecution for any such offense have been instituted before the date of receipt of an application for grant of such immunity:
Provided further that recommendation of the Board under this subsection shall not be binding upon the Central Government.
(2) An immunity granted to a person under sub-section (1) may, at any time, be withdrawn by the Central Government, if it is satisfied that such person had, in the course of the proceedings, not complied with the condition on which the immunity was granted or had given false evidence, and thereupon such person may be tried for the offence with respect to which the immunity was granted or for any other offence of which he appears to have been guilty in connection with the contravention and shall also become liable to the imposition of any penalty under this Act to which such person would have been liable, had not such immunity been granted.]
Exemption from tax on wealth and income.
10. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (27 of 1957), the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) or any other enactment for the time being in force relating to tax on wealth, income, profits or gains—
(a) the Board;
(b) the existing Securities and Exchange Board from the date of its constitution to the date of establishment of the Board,
shall not be liable to pay wealth-tax, income-tax or any other tax in respect of their wealth, income, profits or gains derived.
Cognizance of offenses by courts.
11. (1) No court shall take cognizance of any offense punishable under this Act or any rules or regulations made there under, save on a complaint made by the Board 137[* * *].
138[(2) *****]
139[ Establishment of Special Courts.
11A. (1) The Central Government may, for the purpose of providing a speedy trial of offenses
under this Act, by notification, establish or designate as many Special Courts as may be necessary.
(2) A Special Court shall consist of a single judge who shall be appointed by the Central A government with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court within whose jurisdiction the judge to be appointed is working.
(3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a judge of a Special Court unless he is, immediately before such appointment, holding the office of a Sessions Judge or an Additional Sessions Judge, as the case may be.
Offenses triable by Special Courts.
11B. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, all offenses under this Act committed prior to the date of commencement of the Securities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014 or on or after the date of such commencement, shall be taken cognizance of and tried by the Special Court established for the area in which the offense is committed or where there are more Special Courts than one for such area, by such one of them as may be specified in this behalf by the High Court concerned.
Appeal and revision.
11C. The High Court may exercise, so far as may be applicable, all the powers conferred by Chapters XXIX and XXX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 on a High Court, as if a Special Court within the local limits of the jurisdiction of the High Court were a Court of Session trying cases within the local limits of the jurisdiction of the High Court.
Application of Code to proceedings before Special Court.
11D. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall apply to the proceedings before a Special Court and for the purposes of the said provisions, the Special Court shall be deemed to be a Court of Session and the person conducting prosecution before a Special Court shall be deemed to be a Public Prosecutor within the meaning of clause (u) of section 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
(2) The person conducting prosecution referred to in sub-section (1) should have been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years or should have held a post, for a period of not less than seven years, under the Union or a State, requiring special knowledge of law. Transitional provisions.
11E. Any offense committed under this Act, which is triable by a Special Court shall, until a Special Court is established, be taken cognizance of and tried by a Court of Session exercising jurisdiction over the area, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal procedure, 1973:
Provided that nothing contained in this section shall affect the powers of the High Court under section 407 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to transfer any case or class of cases taken cognizance by a Court of Session under this section.]
Offences by companies.
12. (1) Where an offense under this Act has been committed by a company, every person who at
the time the offense was committed was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offense and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment provided in this Act if he proves that the offense was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offense.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offense under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officers of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officers shall also be deemed to be guilty of the offense and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation: For the purposes of this section,—
(a) ―company‖ means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and
(b) ―director‖, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
Power to exempt.
13. 140[***]
141
[ Recovery of amounts.
13A. (1) If a person fails to pay the penalty imposed by the adjudicating officer or fails to comply with any direction of the Board for a refund of monies or fails to comply with a direction of disgorgement order issued under section 11B or fails to pay any fees due to the Board, the Recovery Officer may draw up under his signature a statement in the specified form specifying the amount due from the person (such statement being hereafter in this Chapter referred to as certificate) and shall proceed to recover from such person the amount specified in the certificate by one or more of the following modes, namely:—
(a) attachment and sale of the person's movable property;
(b) attachment of the person's bank accounts;
(c) attachment and sale of the person's immovable property;
(d) arrest of the person and his detention in prison;
(e) appointing a receiver for the management of the person's movable and immovable properties,
and for this purpose, the provisions of sections 220 to 227, 228A, 229, 232, the Second and Third Schedules to the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the Income-tax (Certificate Proceedings) Rules, 1962, as in force from time to time, in so far as may be, apply with necessary modifications as if the said provisions and the rules made thereunder were the provisions of this Act and referred to the amount due under this Act instead of to income-tax under the Income-tax Act, 1961.
Explanation 1.— For the purposes of this subsection, the person's movable or immovable property or monies held in bank accounts shall include any property or monies held in bank accounts which has been transferred directly or indirectly on or after the date when the amount specified in certificate had become due, by the person to his spouse or minor child or son's wife or son's minor child, otherwise than for adequate consideration, and which is held by, or stands in the name of, any of the persons aforesaid; and so far as the movable or immovable property or monies held in bank accounts so transferred to his minor child or his son's minor child is concerned, it shall, even after the date of attainment of majority by such minor child or son's minor child, as the case may be, continue to be included in the person's movable or immovable property or monies held in bank accounts for recovering any amount due from the person under this Act.
Explanation 2.— Any reference under the provisions of the Second and Third Schedules to the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the Income-tax (Certificate Proceedings) Rules, 1962 to the assessee shall be construed as a reference to the person specified in the certificate.
Explanation 3.— Any reference to appeal in Chapter XVIID and the Second Schedule to the Income-tax Act, 1961, shall be construed as a reference to appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal under section 3T of this Act.
(2) The Recovery Officer shall be empowered to seek the assistance of the local district administration while exercising the powers under sub-section (1).
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the recovery of amounts by a Recovery Officer under sub-section (1), pursuant to non-compliance with any direction issued by the Board under section 11B, shall have precedence over any other claim against such person.
(4) For the purposes of sub-sections (1), (2) and (3), the expression ̳ ̳Recovery Officer‘‘ means any officer of the Board who may be authorized, by general or special order in writing, to exercise the powers of a Recovery Officer.]
Power to make rules.
14. (1) The Central Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the term of office and other conditions of service of the Chairman and the members under sub-section (1) of section 5;
(b) the additional functions that may be performed by the Board under section 11;
(c)142[* * *]
(d) the manner in which the accounts of the Board shall be maintained under section 3;
143[(da) the manner of inquiry under sub-section (1) of section 3-I;
(db) the salaries and allowances and other terms and conditions of service of the 144[Presiding Officers, Members] and other officers and employees of the Securities Appellate Tribunal under section 3-O and sub-section (3) of section 3S;
(dc) the procedure for the investigation of misbehavior or incapacity of the 145[Presiding Officers, or other Members] of the Securities Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (3) of section 3Q;
(dd) the form in which an appeal may be filed before the Securities Appellate Tribunal under section 3T and the fees payable in respect of such appeal;]
(e) the form and the manner in which returns and report to be made to the Central Government under section 18;
(f) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed, or in respect of which provision is to be, or may be, made by rules.
Power to make regulations.
15. (1) The Board may, 146[***] by notification, make regulations consistent with this Act and the rules made thereunder to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such regulations may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the times and places of meetings of the Board and the procedure to be followed at such meetings under sub-section (1) of section 7 including quorum necessary for the transaction of business;
(b) the terms and other conditions of service of officers and employees of the Board under sub-section (2) of section 9;
147[(c) the matters relating to the issue of capital, transfer of securities and other matters incidental thereto and the manner in which such matters shall be disclosed by the companies under section 11A;
148[(ca) the utilization of the amount credited under sub-section (5) of section 11;
(cb) the fulfillment of other conditions relating to collective investment scheme under sub- section (2A) of section 11AA;]
((d) the conditions subject to which certificate of registration is to be issued, the amount of fee to be paid for the certificate of registration and the manner of suspension or cancellation of the certificate of registration under section 12.]
149[(da) the terms determined by the Board for settlement of proceedings under sub-section (2) and the procedure for conducting of settlement proceedings under sub-section (3) of section 3JB;
(db) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, specified by regulations or in respect of which provision is to be made by regulations.]
Rules and regulations to be laid before Parliament.
16. Every rule and every regulation made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or regulation or both Houses agree that the rule or regulation should not be made, the rule or regulation shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or regulation.
Application of other laws not barred.
17. The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.
Amendment of certain enactments.
18. [Repealed by Repealing & Amending Act, 2001.]
Power to remove difficulties.
19. (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, by order, published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as may appear to be necessary for removing the difficulty :
Provided that no order shall be made under this section after the expiry of five years from the commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament.
150
[Validation of certain acts.
19A. Any act or thing done or purporting to have been done under the principal Act, in respect of calling for information from, or furnishing information to, other authorities, whether in India or outside India, having functions similar to those of the Board and in respect of settlement of administrative and civil proceedings, shall, for all purposes, be deemed to be valid and effective as if the amendments made to the principal Act had been in force at all material times.]
Repeal and saving.
20. (1) The Securities and Exchange Board of India Ordinance, 1992 (Ord. 5 of 1992), is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything is done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.