New Delhi: The status report of investigation into the allegations of fraud and manipulation against the beleaguered Adani group by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is likely to be delayed as it seeks more time from the Supreme Court, reports Business Standard.SEBI is likely to file an extension plea before the apex court to obtain more time to complete its probe into Hindenburg Research’s allegations against the Adani group, the newspaper said citing two people in the know. The market regulator might apprise the court about the progress in the matter and offer rationale behind seeking more time.The deadline to submit the status report to the Supreme Court is May 2, after the apex court on March 3 ordered that Sebi shall “expeditiously conclude” the investigation within two months and file a status report. In the same order, the court had constituted a six-member expert panel and mandated it to investigate regulatory failure in the Adani case and submit its report in a sealed cover within two months.Also read: SEBI Has No Information on Who Subscribed to Adani Group’s Rs 20,000-Crore Share Sale: ReportSEBI was asked by the apex court that its report should focus on alleged violations of minimum public shareholding norms, failure to disclose related-party transactions, and stock price manipulation by the Adani group. The Supreme Court also directed SEBI to apprise the expert committee of the action it had taken, reports the newspaper. The six-member panel, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice A.M. Sapre, is learnt to have visited the SEBI headquarters earlier this week. The court-appointed committee comprises O.P. Bhatt, Justice J.P. Devadhar, K.V. Kamath, Nandan Nilekani, and Somasekharan Sundaresan.The newspaper reports that SEBI has been collecting detailed information over the past two weeks. This pertains to related-party transactions done by the 10 listed and unlisted firms belonging to the power-to-port conglomerate, which has seen massive growth during the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. SEBI has also sought details on the shareholding patterns, disclosures and other information to corroborate the group’s published numbers and claims. Two separate teams are on the matter to look at alleged manipulation in Adani group shares, along with market movements before and after the publication of the report, said Business Standard.
