The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi ) has suspended a general manager from its Corporation Finance Department in a disciplinary action. The case is related to the alleged misuse of official position in connection with an SME matter.
According to an official Office Order No. 08/2026 issued on February 20, 2026, the GM Achal Singh has been placed under suspension with immediate effect under Regulation 86(1)(a) of the SEBI (Employees’ Service) Regulations, 2001, as disciplinary proceedings are now contemplated against him.
The order explicitly bars the suspended GM from entering any SEBI office premises without prior written permission from the Chief General Manager, HRD. He will draw only subsistence allowance during the suspension period.
The case is related to C2C Advances Systems — the controversial SME IPO that even a former full-time SEBI member had desperately tried (and failed) to stop. The suspended GM is accused of directly interfering in an ongoing CFD department investigation into the company and misusing his official position to allegedly extort money from it.
This case has highlighted the significant interference of SEBI officers in the IPOs. In past also several officers in high post such as AGM, DGM have been suspended. SEBI should take strict action and measures to stop the interference in IPOs and investigations.
Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said that SEBI takes strict action against any instance of “egregious behaviour’ by its employees. He said that while the case is still at a preliminary stage, the available evidence was “egregious enough” to warrant immediate disciplinary action.
“I would say that the majority of Sebi officials are very strong on ethics and discharge their duties well. But whenever any such egregious behaviour comes to our notice, it is also our responsibility to act with a stringent hand,” he said.
He underlined that the regulator must uphold high standards of integrity internally, just as it expects compliance and ethical conduct from market participants. Failure to act decisively on credible evidence, he added, could discourage officers who perform their roles with integrity.
“It is important that in any such case, we get to the bottom of the matter. We have a robust system in place to ensure due process ‘” natural justice is followed, charges are properly framed, and the officer concerned is given a full opportunity to respond,” Pandey said.
