SEBI has got three more months to complete its probe in the Hindenburg case
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today gave three more months to the capital markets regulator SEBI to complete its probe in the Hindenburg case. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had asked for six more months, which the Supreme Court declined today.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud told the SEBI to submit a status report of its investigation by August 14, after which the court will decide whether to give the regulator more time, as requested by its lawyer Tushar Mehta in the hearing today.
“We are not giving you an indefinite extension. Let us know if there is any difficulty. We could have given you time till September 30, but tell us at what stage the investigation is. Give us an update about the status of the investigation,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.
The next hearing is on July 11.
On March 2, the Supreme Court directed SEBI to investigate within two months any violations before and after the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group. On April 29, three days before SEBI’s deadline, the regulator asked for six more months. SEBI’s lawyer said the matter involves cross-border jurisdictions, which will take time to process.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said the report by a panel of Supreme Court-appointed group of domain experts to look into India’s regulatory mechanism to protect investors, which has already submitted its report, will continue to assist the court and share the report with the parties involved in this matter and their lawyers.
In the last hearing on May 12, the Supreme Court turned down the request of the petitioner’s lawyer Prashant Bhushan to ask SEBI what it has found in its investigation so far.
“It is not a criminal case that the case diary needs to be sought,” Chief Justice Chandrachud had said.
The members of the Supreme Court-appointed expert group who are inquiring into India’s regulatory mechanism to protect investors are retired Supreme Court judge Justice AM Sapre, retired Bombay High Court judge Justice JP Devadhar, former State Bank of India Chairman OP Bhatt, former ICICI Bank chief KV Kamath, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and securities and regulatory expert Somasekhar Sundaresan.
