Supreme Court Dismisses Review Petition on Adani-Hindenburg Investigation

New Delhi, India – The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a review petition that sought to re-examine its earlier decision not to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani Group, a major Indian corporate entity.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, stated, “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 petition was filed by Anamika Jaiswal, who argued that the Supreme Court’s January 3, 2024, judgment contained errors and that SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) had regulatory failures that contributed to alleged market manipulation by the Adani Group.

The review plea highlighted changes made to the FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations in 2018 and 2019, which allegedly diluted the rules and facilitated the alleged violations. It also included new documents and evidence claiming that Adani group companies violated Rule 19A of the SCRR (Securities Contracts Regulation Rules), 1957.

However, the Supreme Court maintained that its power to intervene in SEBI’s regulatory domain is limited and that there was no material evidence to warrant transferring the investigation to an SIT or another agency. The court also noted that SEBI had not failed in its regulatory duties and that press reports alone could not dictate SEBI’s actions.

The original judgment came in response to multiple petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation or a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into allegations made by Hindenburg Research, a US-based firm, against the Adani Group.