Twenty thousand comments, one transparency test

SEBI’s consultation on the Closing Auction Session, market timings and derivatives settlement opened on 12 September, according to its consultation page. The submission window closed on 3 October; by 7 p.m. that day, SEBI said it had received 20,000 comments in a post from its verified account. The closing date is also reported by ETLegalWorld/PTI. LobbyWatch has moved the paper from “live” to “closed” in its consultation ledger.

A 20,000-comment tally is a large input, not a verdict on representation. SEBI’s submission instructions tell commenters to address proposals one at a time and state that the process “is not a vote.” A count alone does not tell readers how many distinct participants submitted, which proposals drew support, or how SEBI weighs competing arguments. The paper concerns closing prices, trading schedules and derivatives settlement; whether those positions are published matters to market participants and retail investors watching those outcomes.

For the other ledgers, LobbyWatch records no door move dated 28 September–5 October; its door register still ends with the 16 September FIDC appointment. The RTI log still shows two template-ready requests and no filed request. That means no new logged entry, not proof that no activity occurred outside the register.

SEBI’s public-comments page explains how to submit; it is not itself a record of the submissions or a response statement. The test now is whether the regulator publishes both before finalising a new framework. Until then, volume is visible; influence is not.