The Supreme Court issued a statement on Friday, affirming that it will not issue any injunction orders to the media concerning the Hindenburg Research report on the Adani Group of companies and the resulting market consequences. During the hearing of a case involving the report, advocate ML Sharma requested a media gag, to which the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud responded that no injunction order would be issued to the media.
The CJI also stated that orders would be pronounced soon. In a separate hearing on February 17, the Supreme Court reserved its judgment on four petitions regarding the Hindenburg Research report, which alleged fraud on the part of the conglomerate and resulted in the Adani Group experiencing losses exceeding $100 billion.
Sharma, one of the four petitioners, has requested that the SEBI and the Union Home Ministry investigate and file a First Information Report (FIR) against Hindenburg Research’s founder, Nathan Anderson, and his associates in India.
Sharma has additionally requested a gag order to prevent media reports on listed companies, unless such reports are first filed with and authenticated by the SEBI. However, the court has declined to hear this plea. On February 17, the Supreme Court dismissed a proposal submitted by the Central government in a sealed cover relating to the Hindenburg Research report on the Adani Group of companies and the resulting market consequences.
The bench, composed of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, stated that the Court will appoint a committee on its own, as accepting the government’s sealed cover proposal could suggest that it is a government-appointed committee.