Adani route triggers PIL seeking probe into Hindenburg report by retired SC judge

Adani group

With the Adani route roiling the markets through the last few days, a petition filed in the Supreme Court has demanded setting up of a committee under a retired Supreme Court judge to look into the Hindenburg report that has accused the conglomerate of unfair practices.

Filed by lawyer Vishal Tiwari, the PIL states that the government has not taken any concrete action so far, despite the Hindenburg report being a massive attack being perpetrated on the economy of the country.

“It’s a matter of serious concern that there such unregulated disbursal of loan with huge loss in the form of such huge exposure has destroyed public money at large with no redressal being addressed by the government agencies as to how to recover the losses in respect to such public money,” the PIL said, pointing at the SBI exposure to the Adani group.

The government is answerable as a large amount of public money is at stake, and there needs to be strict concern for mitigating of such loan with clear process and sanction policy for such high stake loan amount, it said. The petition also asks Supreme Court to set up a special committee

to oversee the sanction policy for loans of more than 500 crores given to big corporates.

Earlier, lawyer ML Sharma filed a PIL in the Supreme Court demanding that 'short selling' be made an offence and US short selling firm Hindenburg Research founder Nathan Anderson and his associates should be prosecuted. It also sought investigation against Anderson and his associates in the US and in India for allegedly exploiting innocent investors and the "artificial crashing" of the Adani Group's stock value in the market.

In its report, Hindenburg accused the Adani Group of being involved in accounting fraud and "brazen stock manipulation". The company has refuted the allegations.

Hindenburg engages in activist short selling, which involves selling borrowed stocks with the hope of buying the same at a lower price later. If the prices fall on the expected lines, the short sellers make a killing.