The Sebi Act may have to be amended to make some of the capital market malpractices criminal offences and Sebi empowered. Before getting these powers Sebi will need to build an efficient investigating and prosecuting team and establish a track record of impartial and strict action on the basis of its present powers. These powers should of course be used in a circumspect manner with reference to the evidence of criminality as defined in the laws. The success rate for getting convictions is not very good even for experienced organisations and Sebi should keep this in mind while prosecuting people under these criminal powers. Merely getting additional powers can be counter-productive.
Prevention is better than post-scam enquiries and committees.