Centre opposes in SC PIL seeking removal of SEBI Chairman

The Centre today opposed in the Supreme Court a plea seeking removal of SEBI Chairman U K Sinha on grounds of alleged irregularities in his appointment, saying the charges against him are false as recently he acted against corporates including Sahara.
"They are obsessed with conspiracies...This man (SEBI chairman) has gone against Sahara and is looking into the case of RIL and others," Attorney General (AG) G E Vahanvati submitted before a bench of justices S S Nijjar and Pinaki Chandra Ghose.
The AG was responding to arguments of Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Arun Kumar Agrawal, that M Abraham, a Kerala-cadre IAS officer and a whole-time member of SEBI, had written a letter to the Prime Minister that information regarding cases, pending with the market regulator, against some corporates were sought by the Finance Ministry.

Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran said Omita Paul, Secretary to the President, who was then advisor to the then finance minister, had "no role" in the appointment of Sinha as SEBI Chairman.
The Cabinet Committee on Appointment, headed by the Prime Minister, appoints the SEBI chairman and the advisor has no role in it.
Seeking dismissal of the PIL of Agrawal, the AG said that complete facts relating to two earlier petitions on the same issue were not disclosed to this court.

"I should have raised preliminary issues earlier. The court entertained the petition in good faith. The PIL petitioner should have disclosed these facts," Vahanvati said, adding "this kind of selective amnesia is not expected of a veteran PIL petitioner...".

Bhushan, however, said the PIL, filed by Agrawal, was different from earlier petitions of retired IPS officer Julio F Ribeiro which were dismissed as withdrawn and moreover, the court had granted him the liberty to file it afresh.
He also referred to the prayers sought by Agrawal and Ribeiro in their respective pleas.