IIM batchmates term allegations against SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch as baseless

Madhabi Puri Buch, the Chairperson of SEBI , has received support from her Indian Institute of management – Ahmedabad (IIM-A) batchmates who have termed the allegations as baseless. Buch's batchmates, who have known her for more than 35 years, have come out with a statement defending her integrity and criticising the accusations as an attempt to try and belittle the credibility of an essential democratic institution.

Her batchmates at IIM-A insist, however, that they have fact-checked the story and found it "explicitly untrue." The averments do not recognise differentiation in ICICI Group's ESOP for its resigning employees versus retiring employees, they said-essentially arguing that Buch, having retired from ICICI was well within her rights in exercising her ESOPs within 10 years and not exceeded a 3-month limit.

In latest round of accusations, the Congress Party had accused her of "corruption, alleging that Buch had leased out properties to Carol Info Services, a Wockhardt subsidiary in which SEBI is probing insider trading. Wockhardt, in turn, has denied these allegations, saying they were "completely baseless and misleading."

Earlier accusations had centred around the payments Buch allegedly received from ICICI Bank after his resignation; the Congress said these were in violation of the office of profit rules. ICICI Bank had denied any wrongdoing.

Last week, workers at SEBI staged a protest at the headquarters of SEBI in Mumbai and demand the resignation of its Chairman Buch over what they described as a "toxic work culture" promoted by the regulator.