So far four PILs have been filed in the apex court on this issue. (File photo/Reuters)
The top court had on March 2 asked Sebi to set up a panel to probe the allegations against the Adani group within two months and provide protection to Indian investors.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on a plea by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) seeking six months to complete its probe into allegations of share price manipulation by the Adani group.
The market regulator’s petitions and PILs could not be heard on Monday due to paucity of time and scheduled hearing of some cases before the special bench at 3 pm.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala had on May 12 said that it would consider giving Sebi three more months to conclude its probe into allegations of stock price manipulation and lapses in regulatory disclosures.
Meanwhile, SEBI filed a rejoinder affidavit stating additional reasons for seeking more time to examine the issue.
“The application for extension of time filed by SEBI is meant to ensure justice keeping in view the interest of the investors and the securities market as any erroneous or premature conclusion of the matter without material of complete facts on record shall not result in any lapse. of justice and hence would be legally untenable,” it said.
The market regulator has cited complexities of the transactions referred to in the Hindenburg Report to justify its plea for extension of time to complete the probe.
“With regard to the investigation/examination relating to the 12 transactions referred to in the Hindenburg Report, prima facie it is noted that these transactions are highly complex and have multiple sub-transactions in many jurisdictions and a rigorous scrutiny of these transactions Sebi said data/information from various sources including bank statements of several domestic as well as international banks, financial statements of onshore and offshore entities involved in transactions and contracts and agreements, if any, along with other supporting documents has been filed along with in its plea.
Thereafter, documents obtained from various sources have to be analyzed before arriving at a conclusive conclusion.
The apex court had on March 2 asked Sebi to probe within two months the allegations against the Adani group and also set up a panel to provide protection to Indian investors after a USD 140 billion short sale by US short seller Hindenburg. More than that was eliminated. of the market value of the Indian conglomerate.
It had also ordered setting up of a six-member committee headed by former apex court judge Justice AM Sapre to probe the matter. The scope and scope of the Sapre Panel is to provide a holistic assessment of the situation, including relevant causal factors, which have led to volatility in the securities market in the recent past.
The court noted that the panel was asked to suggest measures to “(i) strengthen the statutory and/or regulatory framework, and (ii) secure compliance with the existing framework for the protection of investors.”
So far four PILs have been filed in the apex court on the issue, including by lawyers ML Sharma and Vishal Tiwari and Congress leader Jaya Thakur.
Shares of the Adani Group came under pressure on the stock market after Hindenburg Research made several allegations against the business group, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation.
The Adani Group dismissed the allegations as false, adding that it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)