Big relief to Adani as SC refuses SIT probe

Hindenburg-Adani Saga

• Jan 24, 2023: Hindenburg Research announced report on Adani Group
• It wiped out over $140 bn of conglomerate’s mcap arket value
• Feb 2023: PIL filed in SC
• Mar 2, 2023: SC asks SEBI to probe
• May 2023: Court-appointed expert committee says no evident of price manipulation

New Delhi: In a relief to the Adani Group, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to transfer the probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Indian corporate giant to a special investigation team and directed market regulator Sebi to complete its probe into two pending cases within three months.

Holding that the court must refrain from substituting its own wisdom over the regulatory policies of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the facts of the case don’t warrant a transfer of investigation from the Sebi. The apex court noted that Sebi has completed 22 out of the 24 investigations into the allegations levelled against the Adani Group.

“Noting the assurance given by the Solicitor General on behalf of Sebi, we direct Sebi to complete the two pending investigations expeditiously, preferably within three months,” the bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said.

It also rejected the reliance placed by one of the petitioners on the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) report to suggest that Sebi was lackadaisical in conducting the investigation. “A report by a third party organisation without any attempt to verify the authenticity of its allegations cannot be regarded as conclusive proof,” the bench said.

The top court delivered its verdict on a batch of petitions on the Adani-Hindenburg row over allegations of stock price manipulation by the Indian corporate giant. While pronouncing the verdict, the CJI said the Sebi should take its probe to a logical conclusion in accordance with the law.

“The facts of this case do not warrant a transfer of investigation from Sebi. In an appropriate case, this court does have the power to transfer an investigation being carried out by an authorised agency to an SIT or to the CBI. Such a power is exercised in extraordinary circumstances,” the bench said.