SEBI has approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of all public interest litigations filed against its order on ULIPs in different courts to the Apex Court.
A bench headed by Justice S H Kapadia also sought response from some PIL litigants who have raised the issue concerning ULIPs in various High Courts.
With the capital market regulator making this unilateral move despite the Finance Minister’s advice to seek a joint verdict, the regulatory conflict over ULIPs appears to have further intensified.
IRDA wanted to file a joint application under Section 90 of the Civil Procedure Code, but SEBI did not agree to it.
Mr J. Hari Narayan, Chairman, IRDA said, “SEBI’s legal counsel is of the opinion that there is no maintainability of a joint application under Section 90 of the CPC on this issue. However, our lawyers say we can find a legally binding solution under this Section.”
The IRDA Chairman said the onus is on SEBI to establish their legal right to extend their jurisdiction to ULIPs.
“We are confident of our legal stand. They are shying away from jointly seeking a legally binding decision. The ball is in SEBI’s court as they are the ones who are exerting their right to regulate ULIPs,” he said.
Despite SEBI asking insurance companies not to launch new unit linked products without its permission, insurers said they are going ahead with their plans. However, as of now, no insurance company has launched any unit linked product.
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