Effectiveness Of SEBI Regulations On Corporate Governance In India – A Critical Analysis
- IJLLR Journal
- 31 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Jagruthi Pradhan, LLM, Christ University, Bangalore
ABSTRACT
India's corporate governance framework has evolved into one of Asia's most comprehensive regulatory systems, yet persistent corporate scams—Yes Bank, IL&FS, Zee Entertainment, and PC Jeweller—continue post-major governance reforms. This critical analysis evaluates the effectiveness of SEBI regulations in translating regulatory intent into practical fraud prevention and investor protection. Despite SEBI's statutory empowerment under the 1992 Act and sophisticated regulatory architecture including the 2015 Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations, the Satyam scandal (2009) marked a watershed moment exposing fundamental audit failures, board independence shortcomings, and regulatory coordination gaps that persist despite subsequent regulatory enhancements. The research examines regulatory evolution through the 2017 Kotak Committee recommendations, 2022-2025 reforms addressing related party transactions and ESG reporting, and enforcement mechanisms alongside critical enforcement limitations. Case study analysis of Yes Bank, IL&FS, Zee Entertainment, PC Jeweller, and Dish TV-Yes Bank dispute reveals systematic board governance failures, inadequate independent director engagement, sophisticated related party transaction structures exploiting regulatory gaps, and enforcement action delays. Comparative international analysis demonstrates India's regulatory framework substantially aligns with OECD principles yet lags in enforcement pace, auditor independence standards, and private enforcement mechanisms compared to developed markets. The research concludes that regulations alone prove insufficient for preventing sophisticated misconduct; effective governance requires multifaceted approaches encompassing robust auditor independence enhancement, strengthened whistleblower protections, independent director reform, accelerated enforcement mechanisms, minority shareholder protections, institutional investor activism development, and comprehensive ESG assurance standards. India's future corporate governance effectiveness depends fundamentally on enforcement rigor and cultural transformation rather than further regulatory proliferation.
Keywords: Corporate governance, SEBI regulations, related party transactions, board independence, enforcement effectiveness, investor protection.
