Adani-Hindenburg Row: Supreme Court Hints At Granting Three-Month Extension To SEBI To Finish Probe

The SC bench said that the court had received the report of the apex court-appointed AM Sapre committee and would like to hear the matter on May 15

The Supreme Court of India (SC) on Friday said that it may grant a three-month extension to investigate into the allegations of stock price manipulation by Adani Group and lapses in regulations. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), however, had asked the court for a six-month extension.

A bench of chief justices DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala said the court registry had received the report of the apex court-appointed AM Sapre committee on the issue and would like to hear the matter on Monday after perusing the findings of the panel. "We will go through the report in the meantime. We will take up the matter on May 15," the bench said.

On March 2, the SC had asked the Sebi to probe the crash of Adani Group stocks following the Hindenburg report. It also asked the regulatory body to suggest ways to strengthen the regulatory framework to protect the interest of the investors.

The apex court also set up a six-member expert committee to determine if there was any regulatory failure to deal with the issue. The committee was asked to submit the report in a sealed cover in two months. The chairman of Sebi was also ordered to provide all the relevant information to the committee.

During the hearing, the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for SEBI, that it may grant the market regulator three months instead of six it has sought to wrap up the probe into allegations of stock manipulation.

Cautioning a lawyer, appearing for petitioner Jaya Thakur, it said this court has said nothing about any regulatory failure on the part of SEBI. "Be careful when you make allegations. This may affect the sentiments in the stock market. It's all your allegations and the panel has been formed to look into it," the bench said.

Earlier on February 10, the Supreme Court had said the interest of Indian investors needs to be protected against market volatility in the backdrop of the rout of the Adani Group stocks and asked the Centre to consider setting up a committee of domain experts, headed by a former judge, to look at strengthening the regulatory mechanism. The Centre had agreed to the apex court's proposal.