'Though the term 'settlement' is widely used in stock exchanges and securities market, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018 has different meaning to it' Discuss and also brief

The terms Settlement, is commonly used in the stock exchanges and stock market to mean as payment of consideration and completion of a market transaction. However, in the context of SEBI (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018 (hereinafter referred to as "The Settlement Regulations") the term "settlement" is used more as a mechanism for dealing with the arrears of cases pending before the SEBI while providing flexibility of a wider array of enforcement actions which will achieve twin goals of an appropriate sanction and deterrence without resorting to long-drawn litigation before SEBI, SAT and Courts etc. Regulation 9 of the Settlement Regulations provides that: (1) The settlement terms may include a settlement amount and/or non-monetary terms, in accordance with the guidelines specified in Schedule-II of SEBI (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018. (2) The non-monetary terms may include the following: (a) Suspension or cessation of business activities for a specified period; (b) Exit from Management; (c) Disgorgement on account of the action or inaction of the applicant; (d) Refraining from acting as a partner or officer or director of an intermediary or as an officer or director of a company that has a class of securities regulated by the Board, for specified periods, (e) Cancel securities and reduce holdings where the securities are issued fraudulently, including bonus shares received on such securities, if any, and reimburse any dividends received, etc.; (f) Lock-in of securities; (g) Implementation of enhanced policies and procedures to prevent future securities laws violations as well as agreeing to appoint or engage an independent consultant to review internal policies, processes and procedures; (h) Provide enhanced training and education to employees of intermediaries and securities market infrastructure institutions; (i) Submit to enhance internal audit and reporting requirements. (3) The settlement amount, excluding the legal costs and disgorged amount, shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India. (4) The application fee referred to in sub-regulation (2) of regulation 3 and the legal costs, if any, forming part of the settlement amount shall be credited to the Securities and Exchange Board of India General Fund. Explanation. - Legal costs shall include liquidated costs, as may be determined by the Board, in respect of costs for obtaining appropriate orders from the Tribunal or Court under sub regulation (2) of regulation 24. (5) The amount of profits made or losses avoided by the applicant that may be disgorged as part of the settlement terms, shall be credited to the Investor Protection and Education Fund.