SC to examine on Friday plea seeking probe into Hindenburg report on Adani group

The Supreme Court agreed to examine a plea seeking a direction to set up a committee monitored by a retired apex court judge to investigate the Hindenburg Research report

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine a plea on Friday seeking a direction to set up a committee monitored by a retired apex court judge to investigate the Hindenburg Research report.

The Adani group has rubbished the allegations made by the Hindenburg Research.

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Advocate Vishal Tiwari mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala.

Tiwari contended before the bench that a separate petition has been filed on the issue, which is listed for hearing on February 10, and requested to hear his petition along with that petition.

Tiwari’s plea sought directions to set up a special committee to supervise the sanction policy for loans of over Rs 500 crore given to big companies.

The other PIL filed by advocate M.L. Sharma contended that the US resident Nate Anderson of Hindenburg Research and his Indian entities “hatched a criminal conspiracy, did short sale in hundreds of billion dollars prior and thereafter on 25th January 2023, they released a concocted news as research report qua to the Adani Group of the companies, got crash share market and squared up their short sell position at the lowest rate.”

American short seller Hindenburg Research’s report about Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has led to a stock rout, erasing over $ 100 billion from his empire and pushing him down on the global rich list.

Sharma’s plea further added, “They secured billions of profits by butchering citizens of India. However, SEBI did not suspend trading in the stock specially qua to the Adani group of the companies and allowed short sellers to exploit innocent investors.”

The plea said, “Issue writ of mandamus to the respondents to conduct inquiry to prosecute & register F.I.R. u/s 420 & 120-B of IPC r.w. S.15HA SEBI Act against the short sellers (Mr. Anderson and his associate (in India /USA) for exploiting innocent investors via short selling under the garb of artificial crashing via a short selling couple with further direction to recover their turnover of short selling with penalty to compensate investors in the interest of justice.”