The recent action involving Rajesh Exports, where allegations of overstatement of revenues by ₹15 lakh crore were made, has reopened an old debate. Since the matter has not attained finality, no conclusions should be drawn about this specific case. However, this episode again raises questions that India cannot ignore.

These questions extend far beyond one company. They require a serious examination of the regulators and individuals entrusted with safeguarding market integrity. The real question is why multiple layers of oversight repeatedly fail to identify and address warning signals in time, despite ever-expanding powers of the regulators.

The Renco Gears episode in the late 1990s raised concerns about the reliability of corporate financial reporting. A decade later, the Satyam scandal exposed one of the largest accounting frauds in India. Both episodes triggered demands for stronger oversight.

Around 2008, multiple GDR frauds exposed weakness in India’s securities market oversight yet again. More than one hundred companies showed sham fund raises overseas through the same structure. Indian investors lost thousands of crores. Yet a fundamental question remained unanswered: how did so many similar transactions escape timely scrutiny by regulators and exchanges?

More recently, studies highlighted retail investor losses of nearly ₹2 lakh crore in futures and options. Questions were raised regarding trading strategies involving foreign funds operating simultaneously in cash and derivatives markets. While the issue generated considerable public debate, there has been limited discussion on whether surveillance mechanisms had functioned effectively and........

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