Adani-Hindenburg saga: As SC orders expert committee, a look at its members

The Adani Group welcomes the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. It will bring finality in a time bound manner. Truth will prevail.

— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) March 2, 2023

Additionally, the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI), India’s regulatory body, was asked to investigate the allegations of stock manipulation levelled against the Adani Group and if there was a failure to disclose relevant information on related parties. Two months’ time has been given for its report to be submitted.

What is the Supreme Court order about?

On February 17, the top court refused to accept the Centre’s suggestion on a proposed panel of experts in a sealed cover, observing that it wanted full transparency for the protection of investors. The Central government had argued that the regulatory bodies in India needed monitoring by a panel may have some adverse impact on the flow of money into the country, and therefore, it said it would provide details such as names and the scope of the panel’s mandate in a sealed cover.

The SEBI, in its note filed in the top court, had indicated it is not in favour of banning short-selling or sale of borrowed shares and said it is investigating allegations made against the Adani Group, as well as its share price movements, PTI reported.

Who are the committee members?

The former Supreme Court Justice AM Sapre would head the six-member committee comprising OP Bhatt, Justice JP Devdhar, Nandan Nilakeni, KV Kamath and Somasekharan Sundaresan. Here’s a look at the members:

*Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Justice AM Sapre. (Photo via Supreme Court website)

He practised on Civil, Constitutional and Labour sides in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur. He was made a Permanent Judge in 2001. After transfers to the Rajasthan High Court, the Chhattisgarh High Court and the High Court of Manipur, he became the First Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur and then Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, Guwahati in 2013. In 2014, Justice Sapre was elevated to the post of Judge of the Supreme Court and retired in August 2019.

As an SC judge, he was the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. He was also part of the nine-judge bench that unanimously upheld the right to privacy as a fundamental right in the landmark KS Puttaswamy ruling. In April last year, an SC bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud appointed Justice Sapre to assist Unitech Company’s Board of Management in selling off its assets.

*Om Prakash Bhatt

Om Prakash Bhatt, Chairman, State Bank of India, India, speaking at the Annual Meeting 2011 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 28, 2011. (Wikimedia Commons)

Bhatt is a former Chairman of the State Bank of India (between 2006 and March 2011). He was also the Chairman of the Indian Banks’ Association. Bhatt is now on the board of multiple companies including Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and Hindustan Unilever as an Independent Director. He also served as the Chairman of the Indian Banks’ Association, the apex body of Indian banks and was the government’s nominee for the India-US CEO Forum, Indo-French CEO Forum and Indo-Russia CEO Forum.

*Justice JP Devdhar, who has now retired, practised at the Bombay High Court in Constitutional Law and other branches of Civil Law, particularly the Cooperative Societies Act, Service Law, Rent Act, Customs Act, Excise Act and Direct Tax Law.

He was the counsel for the Union of India and the standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department since 1985. He was elevated to the High Court as Additional Judge in 2001. The Securities Appellate Tribunal, a body that hears cases related to SEBI, appointed him as its Presiding Officer just two months after his retirement in 2013.

*Nandan Nilekani

Nandan Nilekani during the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2023. (Express Photo by Rohit Jain Paras)

He started his entrepreneurial journey in 1981 when he co-founded Infosys and is among the rare entrepreneurs who have successfully executed projects in the public as well as the private sector. In 2009, he became the founding Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and played an instrumental role in the roll-out of Aadhaar.

Nilekani held the role till 2014 before resigning to unsuccessfully contest Lok Sabha elections in Bengaluru on a Congress ticket. He has co-founded and is the Chairman of EkStep, a not-for-profit effort to create a learner-centric platform for children. In Jan 2023, he was appointed as the co-chair of the “G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion and Development”. He also headed an RBI-constituted committee on the ‘Deepening of Digital Payments’ in 2019.

*Kundapur Vaman Kamath

KV Kamath during a 2015 National council meeting of the confederation of Indian Industry (CII). (Express Photo by Sandip Patil)

A veteran banker, he started his career with the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI), which is now known as ICICI Bank. Under his leadership, ICICI Bank transformed into a technology-driven financial services group offering services in the area of banking, asset management and insurance.

Shortly after his stint with ICICI Bank, Kamath was appointed as the Chairman of Infosys. He also headed the New Development Bank of BRICS countries. In 2021, the government appointed Kamath as the Chairperson of the RS 20,000 crore National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID).

*Somasekhar Sundaresan

Somasekhar Sundaresan speaking at an event in NALSAR, Hyderabad, in 2018. (Screengrab via Youtube.com/NALSARUniversityofLaw)

Sundaresan is a Mumbai-based securities and regulatory lawyer. He has been a member of the Primary Market Advisory Committee, convened by SEBI to review and advise on regulatory issues involved in the market for primary issuances of securities in the capital markets. Also involved in drafting SEBI regulations prohibiting insider trading, he has additionally worked as a consultant to the Financial Sector Legislative Reform Commission, chaired by Justice B.N. Srikrishna in 2011.

His appointment as judge of the Bombay High Court has been pending with the government since February last year. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court Collegium reiterated its recommendation to appoint the securities and regulatory expert as a judge of the Bombay High Court. It made public the government’s objections, which were about Sundaresan posting his views on social media about sub-judice matters.

What are the PILs filed in this case?

Four PILs have been filed by lawyers M L Sharma, Vishal Tiwari, Congress leader Jaya Thakur and Mukesh Kumar. Tiwari’s PIL sought a direction from the Centre to constitute a committee monitored by a retired apex court judge to inquire into the Hindenburg Research report.

Another PIL filed by advocate M L Sharma sought prosecution of short-seller Nathan Anderson of Hindenburg Research and his associates in India and the US for the alleged “artificial crashing” of the Adani Group’s stock value in the market.

Congress leader Thakur also sought an investigation under the supervision of a sitting apex court judge against the Adani Group. The fourth PIL seeks a probe by multiple central government agencies under the supervision of a panel or a former apex court judge against the group, following allegations of fraud and share price manipulation.

(With inputs from PTI and Reuters)