2 Jan 2024 2:54 PM GMT
The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment tomorrow (January 3) on a batch of petitions seeking independent probe into the Adani-Hindenburg issue.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had reserved the judgment on November 24 on the PILs which seek a court-monitored probe into the allegations levelled in the Hindenburg Research report regarding the stock price manipulations by the Adani group of companies. During the hearing, the bench had orally remarked that there was no material to doubt the investigation carried out by the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The bench also expressed reluctance to accept the arguments against the impartiality of the members of the expert committee constituted by the Court to examine the issue.
On January 24, US-based short-selling firm Hindenburg Research published a scathing report accusing the Adani Group of widespread manipulations and malpractices aimed at inflating its stock prices. In response, the Adani Group vehemently refuted the allegations by publishing a comprehensive 413-page reply.
Subsequently, a group of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) was filed in the Supreme Court by Advocates Vishal Tiwari, ML Sharma, Congress leader Dr. Jaya Thakur, and activist Anamika Jaiswal. These PILs sought a court-monitored probe into the matter. On March 2, the Supreme Court constituted a committee to investigate and examine if there is any regulatory framework in the matter. The SEBI was also directed to probe into the allegations against the Adani group. The expert committee was composed of Mr OP Bhat (former Chairman of SBI), retired Justice JP Devadhar, Mr KV Kamath, Mr Nandan Nilekani, and Mr Somasekharan Sundaresan, with former Supreme Court judge Justice AM Sapre heading the committee.
The two months' time originally allowed by the apex court for SEBI as per its March 2 order ended on May 2.
However, in May, the SEBI filed an application in the Supreme Court, requesting a six-month extension to complete its probe. In its affidavit, SEBI had stated that the transactions in the matter were complex and required more time to examine. SEBI also informed the apex court bench that it had already approached eleven overseas regulators under the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU) with the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) with respect to its investigation into Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms the investigation required more time.
The Supreme Court initially refused to grant a full six-month extension but extended the deadline to August 14, 2023. The bench had passed the extension order on May 17. As the second deadline was set to end, SEBI requested an additional 15 days to complete its investigation. In its application, SEBI informed the court that "it has progressed substantially". The market regulator further said that in one matter, an interim report had been prepared based on the materials available and that it had sought information from agencies and regulators in foreign jurisdictions, etc. and upon receipt of such information, it would evaluate the same to determine further course of action, if any.