The Lok Sabha has passed the Securities Laws Amendment Bill, 2014 yesterday by voice vote. The bill, aims at giving more teeth to SEBI to crackdown on fraudulent investment schemes and seek information from any entity related to a probe.

It also provides for the setting up of special courts to ensure speedy trial and provide SEBI with powers such as the authority to seek call-data records.

In his brief reply to a discussion on the Bill, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, the Securities Exchange Board of India, SEBI, has been given more powers to deal stringently with fraudulent schemes involving financial investment by small traders.

He said, SEBI will be equipped with search powers with a provision of checks and balances. Replying to a specific query, Mr Jaitley said, the government has registered cases against as many as 78 companies involved in fraudulent activities.

He said that the Bill would enable seeking information from any entity related to a probe.