SEBI Complaints (SCORES) and Appeals to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (2026)
How to raise an investor complaint on SEBI SCORES, escalate it, and appeal a SEBI order to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT): who can act, the time limits, and the route onward to the Supreme Court. Last verified October 2026.
How-to · Securities Law · SEBI
If a listed company, broker or mutual fund has wronged you as an investor, you have a free first step: a complaint on SEBI SCORES. If you are a market participant hit by a SEBI order, you have a different step: an appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). These are two separate tracks, and people often confuse them. This guide explains how to use SCORES, how it escalates, and how and when to appeal a SEBI order to SAT and onward to the Supreme Court. Last verified October 2026.
- Investor complaint: file on SCORES within one year of the cause of action; the entity must file an Action Taken Report within 21 days.
- Escalation: seek a review on SCORES, then SMART ODR conciliation and arbitration.
- Appeal a SEBI order: to SAT under Section 15T within 45 days; no statutory pre-deposit; SAT sits at Mumbai.
- Onward: to the Supreme Court under Section 15Z within 60 days (plus 60), on a question of law only.
01Two different problems, two different routes
There are two very different situations in the securities world, and each has its own forum. The first is an investor grievance: your broker did not transfer shares, a company did not pay a dividend, or a refund is stuck. That goes to SCORES. The second is a legal challenge: SEBI has passed an order against you, debarring you, imposing a penalty, or giving a direction. That goes to SAT.
Mixing the two wastes time. SCORES is a redress portal, not a court. SAT is a tribunal that hears appeals against SEBI orders. A complaint on SCORES does not stop the clock on a SAT appeal, so if you have an appealable order, watch the 45-day deadline closely.
Which door is yours?
If you are an aggrieved investor chasing a service failure, start with SCORES. If you are a person or firm hit by a formal SEBI order, your remedy is an appeal to SAT under Section 15T, not SCORES.
02Step 1: File a complaint on SCORES
SCORES is the SEBI Complaints Redress System, an online portal for investor grievances against SEBI-registered entities. The current version, SCORES 2.0, auto-routes a complaint to the entity and auto-escalates it if deadlines are missed.
- Who can file: any investor with a grievance against a SEBI-registered intermediary or a listed company.
- Time limit: lodge the complaint within one year from the date the cause of action arose. SEBI can reject a complaint filed after this.
- Entity response: the entity must resolve the complaint and upload an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 21 calendar days.
You should first take up the grievance directly with the entity. SCORES is the next step if that fails. Matters already before a court or in arbitration are generally kept out of SCORES.
03Escalation and SMART ODR
If you are not satisfied with the entity reply, SCORES 2.0 lets you ask for a review. You can seek a first-level review within 15 days of the Action Taken Report, and a second-level review after that if you remain unsatisfied. Complaints also auto-escalate when a deadline is missed.
If SCORES does not resolve matters, investors can move to the SMART ODR portal, SEBI online dispute resolution system. This offers conciliation and then arbitration, ending in a binding outcome. It is designed for money or service disputes with registered entities, not for challenging a SEBI order.
SCORES is where an investor is heard. SAT is where a SEBI order is tested.
04Appealing a SEBI order to SAT
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) is a statutory tribunal set up under Section 15K of the SEBI Act, 1992. An appeal to SAT lies under Section 15T against an order of the SEBI Board or its adjudicating officer.
- Who can appeal: any person aggrieved by an order of SEBI or its adjudicating officer.
- Time limit: 45 days from the date you receive a copy of the order. SAT can condone a delay for sufficient cause.
- Where: SAT sits at Mumbai and has all-India jurisdiction. It also hears appeals from orders of IRDAI and PFRDA, so it is the common appellate body for the securities, insurance and pension regulators.
- Pre-deposit: there is no statutory pre-deposit to file a SAT appeal, unlike some tax and debt tribunals. SAT may still impose conditions when it grants interim stay.
SAT aims to decide an appeal within six months of filing, though that is a target, not a hard deadline.
05Onward to the Supreme Court
A SAT order can be appealed to the Supreme Court under Section 15Z of the SEBI Act, but only on a question of law. The appeal must be filed within 60 days of the SAT order being communicated, and the Supreme Court can allow a further 60 days for sufficient cause.
The Supreme Court has held that its power under Section 15Z is confined to questions of law. So the Court will not re-examine the facts; it looks only at whether SAT got the law right. If your dispute is really about a bank enforcement action rather than a SEBI order, a different ladder applies, set out in how to respond to a SARFAESI notice and file in the DRT.
06Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
A securities dispute rarely sits in one place: it can travel from SEBI to SAT and up to the Supreme Court, at times running next to a company law or criminal case. Claw follows the cases, orders and hearing dates over 9,102 courts, benches and forums, tribunals among them, and searches a bank of more than 30 crore judgments that returns results in under 5 seconds, with Supreme Court holdings on record from 1950. So you can watch a SAT appeal by party or advocate name, and pull up how SAT and the Supreme Court have earlier read a like SEBI penalty or direction.
Claw does not use the case documents customers upload to train its AI models, so your filings stay private. Set up a free Claw account to keep eyes on your SAT matter by party or advocate name. To search the wider body of law, see case search across Indian courts.
07Sources and further reading
- SEBI SCORES (file and track complaints): scores.sebi.gov.in
- SEBI (circulars and investor information): sebi.gov.in
- Securities Appellate Tribunal (orders and case status): sat.gov.in
- India Code (SEBI Act, 1992): indiacode.nic.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This guide is general information, not legal advice. SCORES timelines and SEBI procedure change through circulars, so check the current rules and take advice from counsel before you act.
08Frequently asked questions
What is SEBI SCORES?
SCORES is the SEBI Complaints Redress System, a free online portal where investors lodge grievances against SEBI-registered entities and listed companies. The current version, SCORES 2.0, auto-routes complaints to the entity and auto-escalates them if deadlines are missed. A complaint should be filed within one year of the cause of action.
How long does an entity have to respond on SCORES?
The entity must resolve the complaint and upload an Action Taken Report within 21 calendar days. If you are not satisfied, you can seek a review on SCORES, and unresolved complaints auto-escalate to the Designated Body or SEBI.
How do I appeal a SEBI order?
You appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) under Section 15T of the SEBI Act within 45 days of receiving the order. SAT sits at Mumbai, has all-India jurisdiction, and also hears appeals from IRDAI and PFRDA orders. There is no statutory pre-deposit to file the appeal.
Is there a pre-deposit to appeal to SAT?
No. Unlike some tax and debt tribunals, the SEBI Act does not require a pre-deposit to file an appeal to SAT. The Tribunal may, however, impose conditions when it grants an interim stay of the SEBI order.
Can I appeal a SAT order to the Supreme Court?
Yes, but only on a question of law, under Section 15Z of the SEBI Act. The appeal must be filed within 60 days of the SAT order, extendable by a further 60 days for sufficient cause. The Supreme Court will not re-examine the facts.
Can I track a SAT appeal in Claw?
Yes. Claw keeps track of the cases, orders and hearing dates across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, tribunals included, and answers a search of its 30 crore plus judgments in under 5 seconds. You can trace a SAT matter by party or advocate name and study earlier SAT and Supreme Court rulings. It tracks and researches the matter but does not give legal advice.