By India Today Business DeskBillionaire Gautam Adani on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court’s latest order in the Adani-Hindenburg case, saying it will “bring finality in a time-bound manner”.
“The Adani Group welcomes the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. It will bring finality in a time-bound manner. Truth will prevail,” Gautam Adani said in a tweet shortly after the Supreme Court’s latest hearing in the case.
The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, has directed market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India to complete its investigation in the Adani-Hindenburg case and submit its report within two months.
While acknowledging that Sebi is already investigating US short seller Hindenburg Research’s January 24 report on Adani Group and the allegations against the power-to-port conglomerate, the top court said various other aspects of the case need to be examined.
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“Sebi must investigate if there has been violation and manipulation of stock pricing,” said the Supreme Court bench.
The court has also set up a six-member expert committee to review the extant framework of the stock market’s regulatory mechanism. It has appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice AM Sapre, who will be heading the committee, along with OP Bhatt, Justice JP Devadhar, KV Kamath, Nandan Nilekani and Somasekhar Sundaresan.
The expert committee will look into the overall assessment of the situation, including the causes and factors which led to volatility in the securities market in the recent past.
The committee has also been asked to suggest measures required to strengthen investor awareness, and investigate if there has been any regulatory failure in dealing with the alleged contravention of laws pertaining to the securities market in relation to the Adani Group and other companies.
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In addition, it will also suggest measures to strengthen the statutory and regulatory framework and secure compliance with the existing framework for the protection of investors.
The Adani-Hindenburg case
The case involves a chain of petitions filed in the aftermath of a massive slide in the market value of 10 listed Adani Group companies, following an explosive report by US short seller Hindenburg Research.
At least four petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court, with some questioning the credibility of the Hindenburg report, while others demanding a probe into the findings of the report and also the formation of an independent expert committee.
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Adani Group’s listed companies have regained some market value over the past few trading sessions, but are much lower than the Rs 19.2 lakh crore valuation as of January 24. Shares of Adani Group companies rose after the Supreme Court’s latest order.
Rodolfo Frami
Harvey Wiegand
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