Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 17: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the suggestion made by the Centre in a sealed cover on the way forward with respect to the Hindenburg Research report on the Adani Group of companies and the consequent market impact.
A bench made up of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), DY Chandrachud, and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala decided against accepting the government’s sealed cover proposal since doing so may give the appearance that the committee was created by the government.
The Court emphasised that full transparency is required in this case and that accepting the government’s request would equate to keeping the other side in the dark.
“We will not accept the sealed cover suggestion by you because we want to maintain full transparency and if we accept suggestions in sealed cover it is like we have kept it away from the other side as people will think it is a government appointed committee,” said the CJI.
If we accept suggestions, we should disclose it to the other side so that there is transparency, the Court made it clear.
“So we will appoint the committee and appoint members on our own,” the bench said.
After hearing from the petitioners, the bench reserved judgement on the case. The Court was very clear in saying that it would not name a sitting judge to the committee to look into the matter.
The Central Government’s argument that the report’s impact on the market was nonexistent was similarly rejected by the Court.
Four petitions regarding a report written by short-seller Hindenburg Research, alleging conglomerate fraud that cost the Adani Group losses of over $100 billion, were being heard by the court.
Nathan Anderson, the founder of Hindenburg Research, and his accomplices in India were the subject of a First Information Report (FIR) filed by attorney Manohar Lal Sharma with the SEBI and the Union Home Ministry.
Sharma also submitted a request for a gag order to prevent media coverage about publicly traded firms unless they are first submitted to and approved by the SEBI.
Vishal Tiwari, an attorney, requested that a commission led by a former judge of the highest court conduct an investigation of the Hindenburg report. Moreover, Tiwari has asked for the creation
