A plea was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a gag order to prevent media from carrying statements or allegations related to the Adani group firms unless they are filed with and verified by market regulator SEBI.

The interim application for restraining the media was filed on Monday by lawyer ML Sharma as part of his PIL, filed on February 3, which is yet to be listed before a bench for a hearing.

"Media hype has crashed the Indian share Market by more than 50 per cent. Regular allegations /statements in the media are creating panic amongst the investors who are selling their stock under panic and suffering financial losses. Common investors are being butchered which must be stopped in the interest of justice," the interim plea said.

The lawyer sought a "gag order" on statements or other related news reports unless they are filed with and verified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

In his PIL, Sharma, has sought the prosecution of short seller Nathan Anderson of US-based firm Hindenburg Research and his associates in India and the US, for allegedly exploiting innocent investors and the "artificial crashing" of the Adani Group's stock value in the market.

Adani group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research in its report on January 24 made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group. The group has maintained it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.

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