Under SEBI's grievance redress framework, what is an investor's expected first step before escalating a complaint to SCORES?

[ A ]Lodge the complaint directly with the concerned registered intermediary (e.g., the Investment Adviser) and allow a reasonable period for it to be resolved[ CORRECT ]

[ B ]File a police First Information Report (FIR) against the intermediary

[ C ]Approach a civil court directly for an injunction

[ D ]File the complaint directly with the RBI Banking Ombudsman

Takeaway

Option A is correct: the investor should first lodge the complaint directly with the concerned registered intermediary.

Derivation

SEBI's grievance redress process is structured as a two-tier hierarchy. An investor is first expected to raise the grievance directly with the registered intermediary (such as the Investment Adviser) and give it a reasonable opportunity to resolve the matter internally. Only if the intermediary fails to respond satisfactorily, or within the expected timeline, should the investor escalate the complaint to SEBI through SCORES, which then formally tracks the intermediary's Action Taken Report.

Why the others fail

B — File a police First Information Report (FIR) against the intermediary

An FIR is a criminal-law remedy, unrelated to the securities-market grievance escalation hierarchy, and is not a prerequisite or substitute for it.

C — Approach a civil court directly for an injunction

Approaching a civil court bypasses the regulator-mandated grievance hierarchy, which begins with the intermediary itself.

D — File the complaint directly with the RBI Banking Ombudsman

The RBI Banking Ombudsman handles banking-sector grievances, not complaints against SEBI-registered securities market intermediaries.