The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday sought a 15-day extension from the Supreme Court to complete its investigation into allegations against the Adani group.

The court had earlier set August 14 as the deadline for submitting the Sebi report.

On Monday, Sebi said it was forced to seek an extension of the deadline because it had been able to complete its investigation into 17 of the 24 issues that it was delving into. The market regulator added that its probe into the other issues had reached an advanced stage and it hoped to finalise its report in 15 days.

The regulator said it was already ready with the interim report into the investigation which had been “prepared and approved by the Competent Authority in accordance with Sebi’s extant practice and procedures.”

More than 80 separate charges were made against the Adani group in the Hindenburg report which came out on January 24. The report alleged 12 suspicious transactions which led to possible misrepresentation of the financials of group companies, violation of disclosure rules governing related party deals, corporate governance lapses, violation of minimum public shareholding norms and price manipulation of the stocks of Adani group companies.

The Adani group has denied all the charges.

At the previous hearing on July 11, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud had asked Sebi to complete the probe by August 14 and had posted the matter for further consideration on August 29.

The apex court had ordered Sebi on March 2 to complete its investigation within two months and submit its report by May 2.

But three days before the May 2 deadline, Sebi sought a six-month extension of the deadline to submit its report as it needed more time to investigate charges against the Adani group for “misrepresentation of financials, circumvention of regulations and/or fraudulent nature of transactions”.

The apex court rejected that request and said the report would have to be submitted by August 14.

More time needed

In its latest application, Sebi said of the seven issues where the investigation was still in progress, it had prepared an interim report in one matter based on the available material which had been approved by the competent authority.

The findings have been “crystallized” in four other investigations and the reports have been prepared. These are now awaiting approval from the competent authority, the regulator said in its affidavit filed on behalf of Sebi’s deputy general manager Krishna Prasad Singh.

The affidavit added that Sebi expects to secure these approvals before the next hearing on August 29.

That leaves two unresolved issues: the regulator said investigations were at an advanced stage in one matter while an interim report was under preparation in the other issue based on information that had been gathered so far.

The market regulator said it had sought information from entities agencies/regulators in overseas jurisdictions. It would evaluate any information it received “to determine further course of action, if any”.

Adani group stocks plummeted on Monday in reaction to the decision taken by Deloitte, Haskins and Sells over the weekend to resign from its position of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) auditor.

The ostensible reason given in a letter by Adani Ports was that it had been denied a wider role to audit other listed companies within the group.

However, Deloitte had issued a qualified opinion on at least three transactions after the company asserted these did not involve related parties but refused to carry out an independent assessment to buttress their claim.

The Adani group had claimed that this was not necessary since the Sebi was already investigating charges against group companies, including APSEZ.

Investors were spooked by Deloitte’s exit and sold Adani group stocks. Ambuja Cements bore the brunt of the onslaught, tumbling 3.49 per cent, while group flagship Adani Enterprises sank 3.26 per cent.

Adani Transmission declined by 2.69 per cent, ACC slipped 2.27 per cent and Adani Ports dipped 1.66 per cent.

Among others, Adani Total Gas was down 2.07 per cent, Adani Green Energy fell 2.09 per cent, Adani Wilmar lost 1.96 per cent, and Adani Power was lower by 0.78 per cent.