Adani-Hindenburg Case: Supreme Court Refuses SIT Probe

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, January 3, refused to interfere with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) investigation into the Adani-Hindenburg case. The apex court held that there is no ground to transfer the Adani Hindenberg case probe from the SEBI to a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The verdict was pronounced by the Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The Supreme Court delivered the verdict on a number of petitions to the Adani-Hindenburg case. “The reliance on unsubstantiated news reports and third-party organisations cannot be accepted to doubt the probe by a statutory regulator,” the top court said, as quoted by India Today. The bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, declared that it could not regulate SEBI”s investigative authority. The bench also added that the scope of judicial review is only to see whether any fundamental right has been violated.

The Supreme Court observed that SEBI has completed its probe in 22 out of 24 cases. Notably, the court also directed the SEBI to complete the probe in the remaining two cases within three months. At the same time, the Supreme Court directed the central government and SEBI to look into the Hindenburg report on short selling for potential legal violations and take necessary action.

In January, US-based Hindenburg Research released a report that accused the Adani group of engaging in large-scale stock price manipulation. However, Adani Group refused all the allegations and said it is seeking legal options against Hindenburg Research. Opposition parties raised this issue in Parliament and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the matter.

Meanwhile, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani responded to the Supreme Court verdict and said that the truth has prevailed. “Truth has prevailed. Satyameva Jayate. I am grateful to those who stood by us,” wrote Gautam Adani in an X post on December 3.