Former K'taka HC Judge PS Dinesh Kumar Is New SAT Chief

The government has appointed PS Dinesh Kumar as the new presiding officer of the Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT). Kumar is the former chief justice of Karnataka High Court. His appointment came nearly three months after one of SAT's most dynamic and successful presiding officers Tarun Agarwala retired in December.  

The Ministry of Finance appoints the Presiding Officer and Technical Member of SAT. Justice PS Dinesh Kumar has been appointed for four years. Dheeraj Bhatnagar, retired Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Delhi has been appointed as the Technical Member of the SAT for four years.

Presently, there is only one technical Member on the bench since the Presiding Officer retired and demitted office on 29 December 2023 and the Judicial Member demitted office in February last year.

As per Section 15L of the Sebi Act, the SAT shall consist of a presiding officer and such number of Judicial Members and Technical Members and every Bench constituted shall include at least one Judicial Member and one Technical Member.

SAT hears appeals against orders passed by Sebi, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and the Pension Fund Regulatory.