SC grants SEBI time till Aug 14 to complete probe against Adani group
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) time till August 14 to complete its probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud also directed the SEBI to file an updated status report on the investigation.
The bench, also comprising Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, directed a copy of the report of the apex court-appointed Justice A M Sapre committee, which was submitted to it recently, be made available to the parties to enable them to assist the top court in the matter.
It has listed the matter for further hearing on July 11.
"SEBI is granted an extension of time till August 14, 2023 to submit its report," the bench said.
The remit of the Sapre panel was to provide an overall assessment of the situation, including the relevant causal factors which have led to volatility in the securities market in the recent past.
The panel was asked to suggest measures to "(i) strengthen the statutory and/or regulatory framework; and (ii) secure compliance with the existing framework for the protection of investors", the court said.
The market regulator had sought an extension of six months to complete the probe into allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the SEBI, told the bench the six-month period was "compressed" by the regulator taking a realistic view of the matter and urged it to re-consider the August deadline.
"You tell us what you have done because we had already granted you two months. We have granted you now further extension of three months which makes it five months. So, effectively you are asking for six months. We have granted you already five months," the CJI said.
"We are not granting an indefinite extension of time. If there is some genuine difficulty, you let us know," Justice Chandrachud told Mehta.
Mehta requested if the time given for wrapping up the investigation could be extended till the end of September.
"Mr solicitor, we have two options. We could have given you time right now until September 30. Alternatively, you tell us on affidavit say by August 15 what is the position.... We have not specifically dealt with each individual issue but we have said that you will give us an updated status report on the course of the investigation...," the CJI said.
On May 15, the SEBI had told the apex court that it was not investigating the Adani group since 2016 and termed such claims as "factually baseless".
The investigation mentioned in its earlier affidavit pertained to the issuance of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) by 51 Indian firms and no listed company of the Adani group was among them, it had said.
On May 12, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, had opposed the plea for extension of time, saying SEBI was seized of some kind of investigation in the matter since 2016.
The fresh affidavit filed in the court had said the application for extension of time filed by SEBI is meant to ensure "carriage of justice keeping in mind the interest of investors and the securities market" since any incorrect or premature conclusion of the case arrived at without full facts and material on record would not serve the ends of justice and hence be legally untenable.
It had said the 'investigation' referred to in its earlier reply affidavit has “no relation and/or connection to the issues referred to and/or arising out of the Hindenburg report..." The SEBI, in its affidavit, had said it has already approached 11 overseas regulators under the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU) with the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) with respect to its investigation into Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms and the first such plea was made as early as October 6, 2020.
"Various requests for information were made to these regulators. The first request to overseas regulators was made as early as October 6, 2020. A detailed note has been submitted to the expert committee constituted by this court covering the steps taken, responses received and the current status of information gathering under the MMOU of IOSCO," it had said.
The affidavit said in respect of the investigation relating to 12 transactions referred to in the Hindenburg Report, prima facie it is noted that these transactions are highly complex and have many sub-transactions across numerous jurisdictions.
A rigorous investigation of these transactions would require the collation of data or information from various sources including bank statements from multiple domestic as well as international banks, and financial statements of onshore and offshore entities involved in the transactions and contracts, it said.
The top court had on May 12 said it would consider granting three more months to SEBI for concluding its probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation and lapses in regulatory disclosure by the Adani group.
The apex court had on March 2 asked SEBI to probe within two months the allegations against the Adani group and also set up a panel to look at providing protection to Indian investors after a damning report by US short-seller Hindenburg wiped out more than USD 140 billion of the Indian conglomerate's market value.
It had also ordered setting up of a six-member committee headed by former apex court judge Justice A M Sapre to investigate the issue.
Till now, four PILs have been filed in the top court on the issue, including by lawyers M L Sharma and Vishal Tiwari and Congress leader Jaya Thakur.
Adani Group stocks had taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including those about fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against the business conglomerate.
The Adani Group dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
