A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J. B.Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra will on Wednesday pronounce its verdict on a batch of petitions seeking an independent probe into the Hindenburg research report accusing the Adani group of large-scale stock market manipulations and accounting fraud.
The judgment authored by Justice Chandrachud himself would be pronounced at 10.30am in the CJI’s court.
The bench had on November 24 reserved its verdict on the pleas.
On January 24, 2023, Hindenburg Research had published a report on the Adani Group, where it alleged the conglomerate engaged in “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud’’. It led to multiple PILs being filed in the apex court for a probe by an independent agency against the conglomerate.
The apex court directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to conduct an investigation and also appointed a high-powered committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice A. M. Sapre to make recommendations to streamline the functioning of the regulatory mechanism.
The top court, while reserving the verdict, had said it had no reason to “discredit” Sebi which probed the allegations against the Adani group.
The bench had said it does not have to treat what was set out in the Hindenburg report as a “true state of affairs”.
With the top court set to give its judgment, the Adani group stocks will also be in focus. Any favourable order or statement from the Supreme Court could see the shares rallying.
Four petitions
The first petition filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma sought a probe and registration of criminal cases against Hindenburg Research founder Nathan Anderson.
The second petition was filed by another advocate Vishal Tiwari who sought a judicial probe into the revelations made by Hindenburg.
The third PIL was filed by Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress leader Jaya Thakur who targeted public sector LIC and the SBI or being in alleged connivance with the Adanis.
The fourth petition was filed by activist Anamika Jaiswal.
With inputs from Mumbai Bureau
