The Supreme Court today dismissed claims by a petitioner in the Hindenburg row that agencies are not cooperating with the expert committee that is looking into the matter.
The petitioner's lawyer, Varun Thakur, told Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud that agencies are not cooperating with the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee that is examining India's regulatory mechanism in an investigation linked to US short-seller Hindenburg Research's allegations against the Adani Group.
"The report does not say so. It is your imagination," Chief Justice Chandrachud said, referring to the report filed by the expert panel in May that clearly concluded there was no regulatory failure on the part of the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The Chief Justice then asked about the status of the SEBI's own investigation.
The government's top lawyer Tushar Mehta, appearing for SEBI, said the regulator has time till August 14 to give its report. SEBI is looking into any violation before and after the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group.
Mr Mehta said the SEBI investigation is progressing at a reasonable pace.
In its report given to the Supreme Court in May, the committee comprising domain experts had said there was no price manipulation on the part of the Adani Group and that the conglomerate had taken necessary steps to comfort retail investors. The mitigating measures taken by the group had helped in building confidence in the stock and the stocks are stable now, the panel had said.
AdvertisementForeign portfolio investors (FPIs) in Adani Group stocks are compliant with SEBI's regulations, the committee had said.
The members of the Supreme Court-appointed group are retired Supreme Court judge Justice AM Sapre, retired Bombay High Court judge Justice JP Devadhar, former State Bank of India Chairman OP Bhatt, former ICICI Bank chief KV Kamath, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and securities and regulatory expert Somasekhar Sundaresan.
AdvertisementThe Adani Group has denied all the allegations made by Hindenburg and called them a "calculated attack" on India, its institutions and growth story.
"This is not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India," the Adani Group said in January.
(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)
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