Adani-Hindenburg case: SC sets up probe panel, ex-judge AM Sapre, Nandan Nilekani, KV Kamath among members

Signage atop the Adani Group headquarters in Ahmedabad, India

The Supreme Court on March 2 set up a six-member panel, led by a former judge of the court AM Sapre, to look into the crash of the Adani group stocks following the Hindenburg report and also suggest ways to strengthen the stock market regulatory framework.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala said the panel would also look into the accusations made in the short-seller’s report and assess the overall situation.

The bench directed the Centre, financial statutory bodies and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson to extend all cooperation to the panel, which has to submit its report within two months.

Former judges OP Bhat and JP Devdatt will also be part of the probe committee.

The court also named Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, veteran banker KV Kamath and Somasekharan Sundaresan to the committee.

The SC collegium had recommended Sundaresan’s name for appointment to the Bombay High Court. The government objected to his appointment, saying he aired his views on social media on cases pending before the court.

Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research accused the ports-to-power conglomerate of stock manipulation and fraudulent transactions and flagged debt concerns.

The Adani Group has dismissed the accusations as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements. The group has seen the valuation of some of its companies halved after the report was released on January 24.