Adani issue: Sebi chief declines to comment, says matter sub-judice

Mumbai: Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Wednesday said the regulator will not comment on the Adani issue and that the matter is sub-judice.

In the wake of a report by the New York based short-seller Hindenburg Research on the Adani group in January, there was a steep fall in the shares of the ten listed Adani group companies and some of them lost over 85 per cent of their market value.

The allegations made by the short seller were rejected by the Adani group.

On March 2, the Supreme Court set up a six-member expert committee to look into the Adani matter.

The apex court also directed the markets regulator to investigate whether there was violation of Sebi rules and any manipulation of stock prices as alleged by the brokerage.

“We never comment on entity-specific matters as a policy, and on top of that, the matter is before the Supreme Court. We never comment on sub-judice matters,” said Buch addressing the media after a board meeting of Sebi.

“We will follow the advice of the apex court. We are duty-bound to follow whatever the highest court of the land has said,” she added.

It was Buch’s first press conference after the Hindenburg Research report on the Adani group.

Further, she said the apex court has also instructed the regulator to precisely give the update to the committee and it will be inappropriate to comment on the matter.

The group has rejected the allegations made by Hindenburg Research.