Adani Hindenburg case: Supreme Court dismisses review plea against January 3 judgment denying SIT, CBI probe

Adani Hindenburg case: The Supreme Court on Monday, July 15, dismissed a plea seeking a review of its verdict on January 3, which refused to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani Group.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra dismissed a plea against the January 3 judgement.

The bench said, "Having perused the review petition, there is no error apparent on the face of the record. No case for review under Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules 2013. The review petition is, therefore, dismissed.”

The review petition claimed that there were "mistakes and errors" in the judgment. The petition added that in light of certain new material that had been received by the counsel for the petitioner, there were sufficient reasons for a review of the verdict, reported PTI.

The plea further claimed that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in its report, only updated the court about the status of the 24 probes it undertook against the Adani Group following the allegations, whether they were complete or incomplete. However, the market regulator did not disclose any findings or details of the action taken against the group in its report.

It is important to note that the apex court, in its judgement, noted that Sebi has completed its investigation in 22 out of the 24 matters where allegations had been levelled against the Adani Group.

"There are apparent errors on the face of the impugned order dated January 3, 2024, wherein this court rejected the petitioner's prayer to constitute a court-monitored SIT into the massive fraud involving market manipulation through offshore entities owned by promoters of Adani Group. Hence, the impugned judgment is liable to be reviewed," PTI reported, quoting the plea.

In 2023, the US short-seller levelled allegations of financial wrongdoings against the Adani Group in its investigation report released on February 25. Following that, the Adani Group's market capitalisation plummeted by more than $140 billion. The Adani Group dismissed the charges as lies, asserting it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.