In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices Manoj Mishra and JB Pardiwala have said there are no grounds to transfer the Adani Group case to a Special Investigation Team. Instead, it backs SEBI’s decision to offer a clean chit to the Adani Group in the Hindenburg Case. This serves as a huge victory for the Adani Group. It has allowed the business group to gain the faith of the investors and the people.
After the Hindenburg report was published, the Adani Group faced a lot of allegations from the opposition. The investors started to lose faith in the business group. Various questions were also raised on the credibility of its other projects including the Adani Bangladesh project. However, after the Supreme Court made the announcement, all these allegations held no grounds, and the projects under the Adani Group also started operating in full force.
What Made the Supreme Court Give the Go-Ahead to The Adani Group?
The Supreme Court has made it clear that the report submitted by OCCRP. An organization founded by George Soros, a billionaire, among others, cannot be a basis for doubting the capital markets regulator SEBI’s investigation into the Hindenburg Report. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has already investigated 22 out of 24 cases that are linked with the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research’s allegation. The Supreme Court gave a deadline of 3 months to the SEBI to complete the investigation on the remaining 2 cases and pass their judgement on the same. The Supreme Court has also ordered SEBI and the government to check whether Hindenburg has ignored the rules in shortening the market and take the necessary actions accordingly.
The Chief Justice, DY Chandrachud, said in a judgement referring to the report passed. By the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project that a complete reliance on a third-party company report without any kind of prior verification will not be treated as concrete proof to hold Gautam Adani responsible for the wrongdoings he has been accused of.
Hindenburg Allegations Are Not To Be Treated As Gospel
There are no grounds to transfer the probe from SEBI in this case. The probe will continue as planned; the SEBI will continue their investigation and pass its judgement accordingly. The Supreme Court explained why it had denied the request to transfer the investigation to a special investigation team. It said the investigation can only be transferred to SIT under exceptional circumstances. Such power can only be misused with a logical and strong justification.
The judgement throws light on what the Supreme Court had earlier told lawyer Prashant Bhushan: the OCCRP report and the Hindenburg allegations targeting the various happenings of the Adani Group should not be treated as gospel. Instead, a proper investigation must be done before holding the Adani Group victim for any accusations. The Adani Group, in a recent report, has termed the OCCRP report as a malicious combination of misleading information and baseless allegations to drive an ulterior motive. There is no concrete proof against the Adani Group in the report. So, it should not be used as evidence while raising allegations against the global Indian conglomerate.
How was the Adani Group able to win back the investors’ trust?
The Supreme Court has ordered the SEBI and the centre to use the committee’s suggestions to strengthen the investors. The Supreme Court also appointed a separate committee that carefully looked into India’s regulatory mechanisms to protect investors. It had also given the Adani Group a clean chit to continue its operations in the Indian territories and abroad. It mentioned that SEBI did not experience any regulatory failure. No price manipulation took place on the part of the Adani Group. The conglomerate had taken the required step to comfort the retail investors and severe market turmoil after the publication of the Hindenburg Report. This way, the Adani Group could easily earn the investors’ confidence. It also acquired the required funding for the Adani Bangladesh project.
Conclusion:
The win over Hindenburg has been one of the most significant milestones for the Adani Group. It has allowed the conglomerate to return to its former state of glory and successfully conclude. Its major projects such as the Adani Bangladesh project. The incident also highlights the resilient nature of the Adani Group and its constant efforts towards achieving success.