Adani-Hindenburg Case | Petitioner Questions Impartiality Of 3 Members Of Expert Committee Formed By Supreme Court, Seeks Constitution Of New Committee

In yet another development in the Adani-Hindenburg matter, the petitioner seeking a Court monitored investigation against the Adani group companies has filed a new affidavit in the Supreme Court, raising apprehensions against the Expert Committee constituted by the Supreme Court. 

The affidavit filed by petitioner Anamika Jaiswal has alleged that three out of the six members of the committee "fail to inspire confidence among the people of the country" owing to their background and relations with Adani.

It may be recalled that on March 3, 2023, the Supreme Court had constituted an expert committee to review the regulatory mechanism in the light of Adani-Hindenburg issue. The committee consisted of the following members– i) Mr OP Bhatt, ii) Justice JP Devadhar(former Bombay HC judge), iii) Mr KV Kamath, iv) Mr Nandan Nilekani and v) Mr Somashekhar Sundaresan and was headed by former SC judge Justice (Retd.) Abhay Manohar Sapre.

OP Bhatt Chairman Of Company Providing Energy To Adani Facilities

As per the affidavit, OP Bhatt, one of the members of the Expert Committee, and the former chairman of State Bank of India, is presently working as the Chairman of Greenko. The affidavit underlines that Since March, 2022 Greenko and Adani Group are working in "a close partnership" to provide energy to Adani Groups facilities in India. It adds that this clear conflict of interest should have been pointed out by Bhatt himself.

Further, the affidavit submits that Bhatt was also examined by the CBI in March 2018 in a case of alleged wrongdoing in disbursing loans to fugitive economic offender, Vijay Mallya. It is alleged that Bhatt served as the SBI chairman between 2006 and 2011 when the majority of these loans were advanced to Mallya’s companies. "CBI has alleged that the SBI-led consortium of lenders did not conduct any ‘forensic audit’ despite being aware of the ‘poor financial health’ of Mallya’s companies," adds the affidavit.

Somashekhar Sundaresan Was Adani's Lawyer

The affidavit also raises apprehensions against Somashekhar Sundaresan. It asserts that Sundaresan has been a lawyer representing Adani before various forums including the SEBI Board. Further, as per the affidavit, this conflict of interest was also earlier pointed by the petitioner.

KV Kamath Figured In CBI FIR In Chanda Kocchar Case

Finally, the affidavit states that K V Kamath, who was the chairman of ICICI Bank from 1996 to 2009, figured in CBI FIR in the ICICI Bank fraud case. This fraud case related to Chanda Kocchar who served as the Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank from 2009 to 2018. As per the affidavit–

"The CBI alleged that she and her family received various kickbacks over her tenure in lieu of loans provided to the Videocon group, many of which turned into non- performing assets (NPAs). Kamath was the non-executive chairman of the bank when some of those loans were approved and a member of the committee that sanctioned/approved the loans."

In light of the same, the petitioner has sought for the disbanding of the Expert Committee and constitution of a new committee. It states–

"There is an apprehension that the present expert committee would fail to inspire confidence among the people of the country. It is therefore respectfully prayed, a fresh expert committee may be constituted."

Just a week ago, the petitioner had alleged that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had an apparent 'conflict of interest' in investigating the matter and that the market regulator brought in multiple amendments to 'shield' regulatory contraventions and price manipulations by Adani group.

In May, the Expert Committee had submitted a report before the Supreme Court ruling out regulatory failure on the part of SEBI in relation to Adani group companies.

Also Read - Adani-Hindenburg : Did The Supreme Court Panel Ask The Right Questions?