Sebi's new differential voting rights rules may hurt minority shareholders

Sebi has proposed dual-class share framework with superior voting rights, where a certain share will have higher voting power than an ordinary share

The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) proposed structure of differential voting rights (DVRs) could be a major impediment to improving corporate governance practices by India Inc, say market participants. According to them, the new draft paper on DVRs provides for unequal voting rights that may violate the basic principles of corporate democracy. Certain sections of investors, too, have raised apprehensions before the market regulator, seeking review of the proposed norms.

The current regulatory framework doesn’t permit DVRs with higher or superior voting rights. If approved, companies will be allowed to issue shares with either fractional or superior voting rights.