New Delhi, Nov 19: A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court for initiation of contempt proceedings against the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), alleging it has violated the timeline for completing the investigation and submitting its report on the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group.
An application has been filed by PIL petitioner Vishal Tiwari saying that despite the deadline given to the SEBI it has failed to comply with the direction of the court and has not submitted the final conclusion/report as was directed by the court.
It said by the order dated May 17, 2023, the apex court directed SEBI to submit its report till August 14, 2023. It said on August 25, 2023, SEBI filed the status report regarding its investigation stating that overall it has done 24 investigations, out of which 22 investigations have achieved finality and two are of interim nature.
The application also referred to the latest report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) against the Adani Group and its alleged investments via “opaque” Mauritius funds.
The application said that the primary focus of the PIL was on what steps shall be taken in future to strengthen the regulatory system so that the investors could be protected and their investment in the share market remains safe.
“Because after the publication of the Hindenburg report against the Adani Group …. thousands of crores of the investors’ money got lost.
“But now the question arises, whether the present regulatory authority is efficient enough or if some changes are required by setting up a new regulatory body with a more efficient mechanism so that in future such damaging incidents may not occur in the share market and the investors’ money may be protected,” it said. Tiwari in his application said that a strong mechanism is also required to keep vigil upon the companies’ conduct and practises – whether they are complying with necessary rules and regulations laid down by the regulatory authority. “That till now after the recommendations and suggestions given by the expert committee in its report the Union Government has not taken any strong step in compliance of that and has not apprised the court with any secured framework for the protection of investors in future,” it said.
Tiwari said that SEBI in its application has objected to the suggestion of a necessary timeline for the completion of the investigation. (PTI)
