Justice AN Gupta also directed SEBI to submit rationale for calling of a panel of names from the concerned SEs against the quota for public nominees.

The notice is returnable in four weeks time. Nalini Jain, counsel for the petitioner Midas Touch Investors Ass. argued that no representation has been given to investors or their associations on the board of directors of SEs. The criteria adopted by SEBI for nomination of public representatives, she said, is arbitrary and the composition of the governing bodies of SEs is not representative of stake-holders. The petition has cited example of UP SE whose board consists of twelve directors out of which six are elected by its member-brokers amongst themselves, three officials are nominated by SEBI and the other three arenominated by SEBI as ``public representatives'' amongst the panel recommended by the SE. She said that neither the 884 companies listed on UPSE, nor the investors whose securities valued over Rs 58,000 crore have been nominated on the exchange's board. It is further alleged in the petition that due to non-representation of investors and companies whose securities are listed and all pervasive control of brokers, the SE's governing board's energy, activities and resources are basically focussed on trading and speculative activities.

SEBI files criminal complaint against Vatsa Corporation

SEBI has filed a criminal complaint against Vatsa Corporation Ltd and its managing director, Pradeep Vakil, Sweta R Parwani (CS), Arvind Mathur, Ketan Shah, M N Acharya, N J Brahmbhatt, Sudhir Modi and Anil Khanna, its directors (present and past) for non-redressal of investors complaints regarding non-despatch of share certificates after their lodgement for transfer and non-payment of dividend within the stipulatedtime after its declaration. Vatsa Corporation is the company against whom SEBI has received the largest number of investors complaints.