The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) Appellate Bench, an apex quasi-judicial appellate forum, has managed 314 cases related to regulatory and statutory violations to date in 2024.
Of these, 122 appeals were disposed of, while the remaining cases were adjourned due to the absence of appellants, according to a press release.
Major cases included violations such as capital issuance, anti-money laundering, insurance, annual general meetings, illegal deposit-taking, disqualification of directors, the appointment of independent directors, statutory filing of accounts, and employees’ provident funds, among others.
In comparison, the Appellate Bench Registry handled 125 appeals from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. Of these, 89 appeals/reviews were disposed of, while the remaining cases were adjourned at the appellants’ request.
In recent times, there has been a strong focus on clearing outstanding appeals. As a result, the backlog of appeals from 2011 to 2016 has already been cleared. The next target is to dispose of all pending appeals filed during 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Filing of appeals before the Appellate Bench is a continuous and ongoing process. In addition to clearing the backlog, 192 new appeals have been filed with the Appellate Bench since January 1, 2023. Currently, 426 appeals/reviews are pending adjudication.
The SECP Chairman has directed the Appellate Bench Registry to issue a hearing roster or cause list for appeals to be fixed before the Appellate Bench during January and February 2025. This measure aims to reduce the likelihood of adjournments due to the non-availability of counsels or authorized representatives.
In this exercise, approximately 150 appeals are expected to be heard and disposed of within the two-month period.
The Islamabad High Court, Lahore High Court, and Sindh High Court have also heard and decided appeals under Section 34 of the SECP Act, 1997, filed against orders passed by the Appellate Bench.
Since January 1, 2023, the Lahore High Court has dismissed all 11 appeals it decided, while the Islamabad High Court dismissed nine out of ten appeals. The Sindh High Court disposed of three appeals during the same period.
All orders passed by the Appellate Bench are promptly uploaded to the SECP’s website. Additionally, 29 key decisions of the Appellate Bench have been published in the Corporate Law Decisions (CLD) by Pakistan Law Decisions (PLD).
