Government appoints former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice PS Dinesh Kumar as SAT chief

MUMBAI: The government on Thursday appointed former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice PS Dinesh Kumar as the presiding officer and former principal chief commissioner of income tax Dheeraj Bhatnagar as a technical member to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).

Justice Kumar has been appointed for four years or till he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier. While Bhatnagar has been appointed for four years or until he turns 67 years, whichever comes first.

They are replacing Justice Tarun Agarwala who demitted office in December last year and technical member MT Joshi, who retired in February last year.


Presently, there is only one technical member, Meera Swarup who has been hearing matters.

According to rules, the presiding officer of the tribunal should constitute a bench with two or more judicial or technical members. However, every bench should include at least one judicial and one technical member.

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