Cases Pending With SAT Surge 50 Per Cent In 2024, Appeals Against SEBI Dominate Complaints Filed

Official data revealed that 1,121 cases were awaiting resolution in 2024, up from 736 in 2023. This marked the highest backlog in at least five years for the Securities Appellate Tribunal.

The number of cases pending before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) surged sharply in 2024, clocking a 50 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

Data from the finance ministry revealed that 1,121 cases were awaiting resolution in 2024, up from 736 in 2023. This marked the highest backlog in at least five years, reported Moneycontrol. In contrast, the pending case count stood at 842 in 2022, 770 in 2021, and 646 in 2020.

Despite the backlog, SAT significantly increased its case disposal rate, nearly doubling the number of orders passed compared to the previous year. Official records indicated that the tribunal resolved 370 cases in 2024, compared to just 187 in 2023.

Majority of Appeals Against SEBI Decisions

The SAT, headquartered in Mumbai, is the designated body for handling appeals against decisions made by financial regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). However, SEBI-related appeals overwhelmingly dominated the tribunal’s caseload.

As of December 31, 2024, of the 1,121 pending cases, 1,105 were appeals against SEBI rulings, while the remaining 16 were against IRDAI. No cases were filed or pending against PFRDA during the year, according to official data.

The backlog coincided with an increase in SEBI’s regulatory enforcement over the past two years. The market watchdog issued 3,731 adjudication orders in FY23 and 2,369 orders in FY22—both significantly higher than the average of 1,500 orders annually in preceding years.

Many of these orders pertained to alleged front-running activities and stock manipulation, with 2,452 cases specifically linked to front-running violations during FY22 and FY23, SEBI’s annual report showed. Additionally, a considerable number of cases involved disclosure lapses and insider trading violations.

Legal experts highlighted that the mounting workload underscored the necessity of additional benches for the tribunal. The government earlier proposed setting up a new SAT bench in the Union Budget for 2016 to address the rising litigation burden, but the initiative remains yet to be implemented.