Adani-Hindenburg Case | Petitioners Raise Concerns About Delay In Listing, CJI Agrees To Look Into The Issue

The batch of petitions concerning the Adani-Hindenburg matter is yet to be listed in the Supreme Court, though the matter was scheduled to be heard on August 29, 2023. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, expressing concerns about repeated deferrals in listing the case in the Supreme Court, mentioned the matter before Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud yesterday (November 6, 2023).

Bhushan voiced his apprehensions about the ongoing delays, stating – "The matter was to be listed on 29th August but it has been deferred, deferred, deferred."

The CJI, acknowledging these concerns stated that the court registrar would investigate the matter. He said–

"I will ask the registry to look into this."

The Adani-Hindenburg issue started on January 24, 2023, when the 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, 2023, the Supreme Court constituted a committee to investigate the allegations. The 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. It may be recalled that in September, the petitioner filed a new affidavit in the Supreme Court, raising apprehensions about the neutrality of the members of the Expert Committee constituted by the Supreme Court.

In March, the Court had directed this committee to submit its report within two months, while emphasizing that the constitution of the expert committee did not divest the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) of its powers and responsibilities to continue its investigation into the securities market's volatility in India. SEBI was also directed to submit a status report within two months.

However, in May, the SEBI filed an application in the Supreme Court, requesting a six-month extension to complete its probe. In its rejoinder 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 International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) with respect to its investigation into Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms the investigation required more time.