Following the Supreme Court's Directive, SEBON has Halted the License Allocation Procedure for Brokers, New Stock Exchange & Commodity Markets

The Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) reports that the licensing procedure of new stock exchanges, commodity markets, and brokers has been postponed till further notice.

According to the Board, due to the short-term interim decision given by the Supreme Court on Kartik 4, it has agreed to maintain the status quo until further action is taken, including accepting applications in accordance with the announcement the Board published on Ashwin 2.

The Securities Board released a notification on Ashwin 2, 2079 with a 30-day deadline in order to carry it out. As a result, 45 companies submitted applications for stock broker licenses, while one company submitted an application for a stock dealer license. Likewise, the board has also allocated 45 days for applications to the new stock market and commodity market and today is the end of the 45-day window. However, after the order of the Supreme Court, all the proceedings have been suspended.

While hearing a lawsuit challenging the procedure of introducing a new stock exchange and brokers, Judge Til Prasad Shrestha issued a temporary injunction because the attorney Deepak Bikram Mishra filed a writ challenging the manner in which licenses were granted. He demanded that the modified regulations not be put into effect right away and filed a writ on Kartik 4 with the Supreme Court.

In the writ petition filed by Mishra, the court issued a short-term interim order to be applied until the next hearing. The Supreme Court has summoned both sides for the next hearing on Kartik 22, 2079.