Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Securities Exchange Board of India to probe the allegations leveled in the Hindenburg Research report against the Gautam Adani-led Adani Group of companies. The top court directed the regulatory body to complete its probe in two months.
As part of its probe, the top court further directed SEBI to look at whether the Security Contract Regulation Rules were violated and if there was any manipulation of stock prices.
The top court also constituted an expert committee led by ex-Supreme Court judge AM Sapre and comprising ex-chief of the New Development Bank of BRICS countries KV Kamath, ex-SBI chairman OP Bhatt, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan and ex-High-Court judge JP Devadhar.
This committee will probe and suggest remedial measures if any in the existing regulatory framework and submit its report in a sealed cover within two months.
The bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had noted cases where investors lost money due to the steep decline in share prices of the Adani Group of companies precipitated by the Hindenburg Research Report. The bench also noted that Hindenburg had declared it had taken a short position against the Adani shares.
The Supreme Court’s order on a plea seeking a probe in the Adani-Hindenburg saga and prosecution of those heading the Hindenburg Research group and the role played by top officials of public sector banks. The top court on February 10 also noted the need to review existing regulatory mechanisms to protect Indian investors from market volatility.