Swindled lakhs of crores of public money: Cong leader moves SC on Adani row

The plea filed by Jaya Thakur through advocate Varinder Kumar Sharma urged the top court to direct probe against Adani group of companies through chairman and his associates

Supreme Court
IANS New Delhi
3 min read Last Updated : Feb 14 2023 | 2:14 PM IST

A Congress leader has moved the Supreme Court seeking probe against Adani Group of companies against the backdrop of Hindenburg report, and also sought probe into the role of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and the SBI for allegedly investing "huge amounts of public money" in the FPO of the enterprises.

The plea filed by Jaya Thakur through advocate Varinder Kumar Sharma urged the top court to direct probe against Adani group of companies through chairman and his associates who have swindled lakhs of the crores of public money and money of the government exchequer, by various investigating agencies, i.e. CBI, ED, DRI, CBDT, EIB, NCB, SEBI, RBI, SFIO under the supervision and monitoring of the sitting judge of the apex court.

"To direct the investigating agencies to investigate the role of Respondent No. 11 (LIC) & 12 (SBI) to invest huge amount of public money in the FPO of the Adani Enterprises @ Rs 3200/- per share whereas the prevailing market arte of shares of Adani Enterprises in the secondary market was Rs 1800/- per share approximately," said the plea.

The plea contended that subsequent to disclosure made by Hindenburg Research report on January 24, the share price of the Adani Group of companies came down drastically and reached to almost 50 per cent of the price prevailing on January 24, in various stock markets in India and abroad, due to which the millions of common men of this country lost more than Rs 10 lakh crore.

The apex court is already hearing two petitions in connection with the Hindenburg report controversy.

On Monday, the Central government informed the Supreme Court that the existing structure, which includes the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and others agencies, are fully equipped to handle the situation which occurred after Hindenburg report on Adani group, and it would not oppose the court's suggestion to constitute a committee to strengthen the existing regime.

It stressed that the court could permit it to suggest the remit of that committee with possible suggestions of names of the committee.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said: "Our instructions are that the existing structure -- Sebi and other agencies -- are fully equipped not only regime wise but otherwise also, in taking care of the situation.

"However, responding to suggestions which fell from your lordships, the government has no objection in constituting a committee."

Mehta stressed that the remit of the committee should be very relevant because any unintentional message to the international investors and domestic investors that even a regulator or statutory monitoring authority also needs a monitoring by a committee appointed by the Supreme Court may have some adverse impact on the flow of money.

--IANS

ss/dpb

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Quarterly Starter

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

Save 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online

  • Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

Topics :Supreme CourtCongressAdani Group

First Published: Feb 14 2023 | 2:14 PM IST

Next Story