The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) would stick to its December 31 deadline for listed companies to comply with the revised Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement, its Chairman , Mr M. Damodaran, has said. The revised Clause 49 prescribes corporate governance norms that need to be adhered by listed entities.

"There will be no extension of the last date beyond December 31. Come hell or high water, there will be no extension. There would also be no dilution of Clause 49 no matter what proposals are on the anvil," Mr Damodaran said here on Thursday at a meeting on corporate governance.

The meeting was jointly organised by the Northern India Regional Council of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and Chess Management Services Pvt Ltd.

The SEBI Chairman also clarified that if the enacted law is inconsistent with Clause 49, then the enacted law would prevail and SEBI would redraft Clause 49.

On the recent comments by a PSU chief that it may be difficult for companies with large boards to comply with the revised Clause 49 requirements, Mr Damodaran said size cannot be a defence for non-compliance.

"Since March this year, they had all of nine months to address these issues.

As you get closer to December, this is not the time to wake up and say what do we do with the large boards. If your companies are considered as Fortune 500 companies, nine months is enough to address this problem," Mr Damodaran said. The SEBI chief pointed out that Clause 49 is the beginning of corporate governance. "It is the basic minimum you need for corporate governance. Clause 49 is a necessary condition but not a sufficient condition for corporate governance," he said.

Commenting on the perception among certain big companies that their securities would not be suspended from trading, as they are large entities, Mr Damodaran said that this was a "totally wrong" belief.

"It's not that we (SEBI) are dying to suspend their shares. But if we are pushed, you could find such companies bringing that ignominy upon themselves," he said.