The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) time till 14 August to complete its probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group and asked the market regulator to place on record an updated status report of the probe.
Meanwhile, the Congress said the apex court-supervised investigation into the Adani issue is limited to violations of securities laws and only a JPC probe can unravel the whole truth.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also directed that copies of the report submitted before it by the apex court-appointed Justice (retd) A M Sapre expert committee be made available to the parties to enable them to assist it in further deliberations in the matter. When Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for SEBI, requested the top court to consider extending the deadline till September end, the bench said, “We are not granting an indefinite extension of time. If there is some genuine difficulty, you let us know.”
The bench, also comprising Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, was hearing the pleas filed on the Adani-Hindenburg row.
“SEBI is granted an extension of time till August 14, 2023 to submit its report,” the bench said, adding, “SEBI shall place on record an updated status report with regard to the course of investigation.”
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 had earlier said.
At the outset on Wednesday, the CJI observed, “The committee has submitted its report. It is a tentative report and now SEBI has asked for an extension of time to complete their investigation.”
He said six-month period is the “compressed time limit” and the court may consider extending the time available till September end for the probe to conclude.
“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 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…,” Justice Chandrachud said.