Advocate ML Sharma filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court on Friday seeking action against the founder of the short-selling firm Hindenburg Research. The plea sought compensation for people who had invested in Adani group companies.
The Adani Enterprises issue reached the Supreme Court on Friday with a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a probe against US-based firm Hindenburg Research, whose report has led to shares of Adani Group plunging on the bourses.
Advocate ML Sharma, who filed the PIL, sought a probe against the short-selling firm and its founder, Nathan Anderson. Sharma sought action against Anderson and compensation for people who had invested in companies owned by the Adani Group.
Sharma in his PIL sought the court’s directions for the registration of a FIR, recovery of the short sellers’ turnover, their prosecution to protect the citizens of India, and further action against them for “duping the Indian share market and innocent investors for their vested interests to provide complete justice.”
Sharma also said that the regulatory body in the stock and commodity markets, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), is responsible for control over the share market and the suspension of trading in stocks that have been oversold or shorted. (Informations only.com)
According to the PIL, the cause to file the petition arose for the petitioner on January 25, when, despite having prior information, the Sebi did not suspend trading in the Adani Group shares and allowed the short sellers to crash the share market artificially and square up their short-selling position at the lowest rate by “butchering/exploiting” innocent Indian investors in violation of laws.
The shares of Adani Group firms continued to remain weak for the seventh day running on Friday, amid a host of negative events surrounding the companies. The stock of Adani Enterprises tumbled 20 per cent to Rs 1,173.55, the lowest in a year, on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations in a report, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against the business conglomerate led by industrialist Gautam Adani.
The Adani Group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements. (Informations only.com)