Adani-Hindenburg row: Supreme Court to deliver orders on additional directions to SEBI today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its orders on Wednesday on additional directions to the SEBI which probed the Adani-Hindenburg controversy.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had on November 24, 2023 reserved its order on PILs filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari and Congress leader Jaya Thakur and others.

The SEBI had said it had concluded its probe with regard to 22 transactions while two were still pending as those depended upon the assistance received from foreign regulators.

During the hearing, the court had said it cannot accept Hindenburg report on Adani group of companies as ipso facto true state of affairs, while emphasising that it found no material to doubt the SEBI probe and impartiality of expert committee appointed by it.

The court had also said it cannot doubt the statutory body like SEBI, by asking it to initiate further probe based on media reports.

The court had then taken exception to allegations of conflict of interest made against members of expert panel headed by former top court judge Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre set up by the top court in March, this year to probe violations of statutory rules following the Adani-Hindenburg controversy.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for an intervenor, had raised allegations against advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan, now appointed as Bombay HC judge and former SBI chairman O P Bhatt, for having connection with Adani group.

"This is a bit unfair because that way, people will stop being in committees we appoint. If we wanted to have retired HC judges we would have. But we wanted domain experts. We wanted a more robust analysis," the bench had said.

Bhushan had claimed Sundaresan had in 2006 appeared for Adani group in connection with a SEBI case.

He also contended Bhatt is presently working as the Chairman of Greenko, a leading renewable energy company. Since March, 2022 Greenko and Adani Group are working in a close partnership to provide energy to Adani Groups facilities in India. The said partnership came to be entered right before an energy deal in Davos between Andhra Pradesh Government and three energy companies including Greenko and Adani, showing clear conflict of interest.

He claimed the role of SEBI was also suspect as they knew about about FPIs made through Mauritius route. Bhushan cited a letter written then DRI chairman in 2014 to the then SEBI chief U K Sinha. He also cited the Hindenburg report of January, 2020.