---
title: "TRAI, SEBI & CCI: Quasi-Judicial Regulators | Model Diplomat"
description: "Learn how India's quasi-judicial regulators TRAI, SEBI and CCI work, their statutory basis, powers, appellate architecture and the regulator-versus-judiciary"
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/upsc-governance-bodies-quasi-judicial-regulatory-bodies-trai-sebi-cci"
---

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Quasi-judicial & regulatory bodies (TRAI, SEBI, CCI)

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# Quasi-judicial & regulatory bodies (TRAI, SEBI, CCI)

India's quasi-judicial regulators—TRAI, SEBI and CCI—their statutory basis, powers, appellate architecture and the regulator-vs-judiciary debate for UPSC GS-2.

## What makes a body "quasi-judicial" and "regulatory"

A regulatory body is a statutory authority created by a parliamentary Act to license, supervise and adjudicate within a defined economic sector. It is **quasi-judicial** because it exercises adjudicatory functions—issuing notices, holding hearings, recording evidence, passing reasoned orders binding on parties—without being a court under Article 233-237. The combination of rule-making (legislative), enforcement (executive) and adjudication (judicial) in one body is the defining feature, and the chief constitutional anxiety the exam tests.

## TRAI — Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

TRAI was established under the **Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997**. Its mandate is tariff fixation, ensuring service quality, recommending licence terms and protecting consumer interest in telecom. Crucially, TRAI is a **recommendatory and regulatory body, not the adjudicator** of disputes. The 2000 amendment to the Act hived off the dispute-resolution function to the **Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT)**, which hears disputes between licensor and licensee, between service providers, and between provider and consumer groups. TRAI's landmark interventions include the **Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016**, which barred differential pricing (killing Facebook's Free Basics) and entrenched net neutrality, and the 2018 net-neutrality recommendations adopted by the DoT.

## SEBI — Securities and Exchange Board of India

SEBI was constituted in 1988 and given statutory teeth by the **Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992**, with the threefold mandate of protecting investors, developing the securities market and regulating it. Section 11 lists its functions; Sections 11B and 11C confer powers of investigation, search and seizure; and it wields civil-court powers under Section 11(3). SEBI frames regulations such as the **LODR Regulations, 2015**, the **PIT (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015**, and the **SAST (Takeover) Regulations, 2011**. Appeals against SEBI orders lie to the **Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT)** and thereafter to the Supreme Court on a question of law. The Supreme Court in **Sahara v. SEBI (2012)** upheld SEBI's reach over collective investment schemes, ordering refund of nearly ₹24,000 crore.

## CCI — Competition Commission of India

The CCI was created under the **Competition Act, 2002** (operationalised from 2009), replacing the MRTP regime. It polices **anti-competitive agreements (Section 3)**, **abuse of dominant position (Section 4)** and **regulation of combinations/mergers (Sections 5-6)**. Appeals from the CCI now lie to the **National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)** after the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) was dissolved by the Finance Act, 2017. The CCI's ₹1,337.76-crore penalty on Google (October 2022) for abusing Android dominance—largely upheld by NCLAT and the Supreme Court—is the standout recent instance for answer-writing.

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