In a significant judgement that was passed yesterday, January 03, the Supreme Court
of India refused to order a SIT or CBI probe into allegations levelled against Adani
Group. The Bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud observed that news reports
or data compiled by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCPP)
could not serve as conclusive proof.
SEBI Can Be Relied Upon, Not Third-Party Organisations, Says Apex Court
“The reliance on newspaper articles or reports by third-party organisations to question
a comprehensive investigation by a specialised regulator does not inspire confidence.
Such reports by independent groups or investigative people in newspapers may act as
inputs before the SEBI or the Expert Committee. However, they cannot be relied upon
as conclusive proof of the inadequacy of the investigation by SEBI. Nor can the
petitioners say that such inputs be regarded as credible evidence”; sources quoted the
Bench is saying.
The apex court dismissed dependence on a third-party report and expressed faith in
SEBI’s handling of the case. It directed the Government of India and the Sebi to
investigate whether there is any infraction of law as reported by the Hindenburg report
on short selling and if so, act in accordance with the law.
The Supreme Court (SC) pronounced its verdict yesterday on a batch of petitions that
sought examination on allegations of fraud made against Adani Group of companies,
basis the Hindenburg Research report. The plea claimed the allegations that the Adani
Group inflated its share prices. The group is believed to be close to the central
government.
After the report of the short seller Hindenburg Research was published, the share
value of various group entities of Adani fell sharply. The report that was termed as
“unresearched” and “maliciously mischievous” led to a significant slide in Adani group
stocks, resulting in a loss exceeding $140 billion within days and prompting the
cancellation of a ₹20,000 crore share sale.
A bench that delivered the judgement comprised of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud
and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
The Congress and CPI(M) have expressed disappointment at the judgement.
"Since the Supreme Court has taken a view that the report on 20 out of 22
transactions is clear, I think it is a clean chit to Adani definitely, and there is no doubt
about that," Siddharth Luthra, the advocate of Adani Group, told sources.
Adani Stocks Witness Significant Rise After Verdict
Shares of 10 listed Adani Group firms were trading higher in Mumbai late in the
afternoon yesterday following the verdict. Flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd.’s stock rose
9.1% before the verdict was out, to reach its highest level in many months.
Bengali