The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected pleas to transfer the probe into allegations made in Hindenburg report against the Adani group of companies from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to an SIT, saying the petitioners had not made out any valid ground for this.
The top court said that the facts of the case do not warrant a transfer of investigation from SEBI. It said that though it has the power to transfer the investigation in an appropriate case, such power is exercised in an extraordinary case when the competent authority portrays glaring, wilful and deliberate inaction in carrying out the investigation.
SEBI had completed the investigation in 20 out of the 22 matters in connection with the allegations levelled against the Adani group, noted a three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, directing that probe into the other two pending cases be completed expeditiously, preferably within three months.
The top court also asked the Union government and its investigative agencies to “probe into whether the loss suffered by Indian investors due to the conduct of Hindenburg Research and any other entities in taking short positions involved any infraction of law and if so suitable action shall be taken.”
The bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, rejected allegations of conflict of interest raised by the petitioners against some of the members of its expert committee and said the charges were “unsubstantiated.”
The apex court also rejected the reliance placed by the petitioners on the report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCPR) to suggest that SEBI was lackadaisical in conducting the investigation and said “a report by a third party organisation without any attempt to verify the authenticity of its allegations cannot be regarded as conclusive proof.”
“The Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgement shows that: Truth has prevailed. Satyameva Jayate. I am grateful to those who stood by us. Our humble contribution to India’s growth story will continue. Jai Hind,” says Gautam Adani.
