Checks and balances challenge: How to strengthen regulators’ accountability

Parliamentary oversight of the workings of statutory regulatory authorities (SRAs) is an established norm in many democracies. It is an essential feature of the checks and balances required for SRAs, which work at an arm’s length from the executive.

Indian SRAs like the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) fuse all three branches of the state. They have the power to make binding regulations (the legislative function), the ability to enforce these regulations (the executive function), and the authority to adjudicate and sanction violations of regulations by the regulated entities (the judicial function).