Supreme Court forms 5-member panel on Adani row
Supreme Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday formed an expert committee of five members headed by a retired judge to review regulatory mechanisms and protect investor interests in the light of the report by American short-seller Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group of companies.
The committee will consist of OP Bhatt, Justice JP Devadhar (retired), Nandan Nilekani, KV Kamath and Somasekhar Sundaresan as members, and former Supreme Court Judge AM Sapre will head the committee.
The committee was directed to submit its report in a sealed cover before the court within two months. "This court noted that there was a need for the committee for regulatory mechanisms to ensure the safety of investors," Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said while delivering the order.
A Bench, also comprising Justices PS Narasimha, and JB Pardiwala, directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to investigate the allegations in the Hindenburg Research Report against the Adani Group. The regulatory body must also probe whether there has been a failure to disclose related party transactions.
Sebi shall file a status report on its investigation before the court within two months. "Sebi shall also investigate whether there has been a violation of Section 19 of Sebi rules (Sebi power to issue directions), or whether there was any manipulation of stock prices," the CJI said.
At the end of the dictation of the order, Solicitor Tushar Mehta requested the court to include a line saying that the constitution of the expert committee does not reflect on the functioning of any regulatory bodies.
Replying to this, the CJI said that this has been made clear in the order.
The Bench noted that Sebi is already investigating the allegations made by American short-seller Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group. "Sebi said it was enquiring into market activities immediately "preceding and post the publication of the report", to detect if there were violations of its regulations," said the CJI.