Adani Enterprises, Adani Green, Adani Wilmar: Adani group shares in focus as SC hears Sebi plea today

Shares of Adani group companies including Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd, Adani Transmission Ltd and Adani Ports & SEZ and Adani Wilmar Ltd, among others, will be in focus in Friday's trade as the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the pleas on the Adani-Hindenburg row, almost two months after market regulator Sebi initiated probe into the allegations of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud for decades” at Adani group companies.

Shares of 10 Adani group firms have recovered from February lows, but are still down 49 per cent from January 24 level, the day the US-based short seller Hindenburg Research made severe allegations against Adani group. Several PIL were filed and the SC on March 2 directed Sebi to investigate any violations of securities law by the Adani Group in the wake of the Hindenburg report, which led to over $140 billion in value erosion in the 10 listed Adani Group companies earlier this year.

As per the cause list uploaded on the SC website, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala is scheduled to hear the pleas on May 12.

The apex court had also ordered the setting up of a six-member committee headed by former apex court judge Justice A M Sapre for the assessment of the extant regulatory framework. Sebi was supposed to file the complete report by May 2 but it sought an six-month extension on April 29 for thorough investigation, given the complex transactions involving listed, unlisted and offshore entities that require deeper investigations.

Adani Total Gas shares are still down 78 per cent from January 24 level. Adani Transmission is down 66 per cent while stocks of Adani Green Energy are down 52 per cent. Shares of Adani Enterprises fell 42 per cent while NDTV (down 35 per cent), Adani Wilmar (down 31 per cent) and ACC (down 22 per cent) have also fallen during the period.

The Gautam Adani-led group said it was fully compliant with all laws, rules and regulations and that it was fully cooperating with Sebi. It said the Sebi application only cites the allegations made in the short-sellers report, which are still under investigation.

"Pass an order extending the time to conclude the investigation as directed by this Court by the common order dated March 2 by a period of 6 months or such other period as this court may deem fit and necessary in the facts and circumstances of the present case," the Sebi plea said.

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