An appeal has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the court registrar’s refusal to list an application concerning the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s investigation into alleged financial misconduct by the Adani Group.

The petitioner had sought to ask the markets regulator for a status report on the progress of its investigation of allegations of accounting fraud, money laundering and stock price manipulation by the Adani Group. The allegations were levied in a January 2023 report by American short-seller Hindenburg Research.

The Adani Group rejected the allegations but the American firm’s report hurt the stock prices of its listed companies and wiped out more than $100 billion of investors’ money.

The appeal, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, claimed that the court registrar had on August 5 refused to list his application in the matter.

The Supreme Court had ordered the Securities and Exchange Board of India to inquire into the matter in March 2023. Tiwari was one of the petitioners in this case.

In January this year, the court refused to transfer the investigation from the markets regulator to a Special Investigation Team. It also directed the regulator to conclude its investigation within three months.

In his latest application, Tiwari sought to ask the Union government the regulatory authority whether they had considered the suggestions of a court-appointed expert panel to improve the strength of the market.

Tiwari, in his appeal against the refusal of the court registrar to list this application, noted that the three-month deadline given to the Securities and Exchange Board of India to conclude its investigation had passed.

He added that the court registrar had declined his application on the grounds that it was “thoroughly misconceived” and did not disclose “reasonable cause”.

According to the court registrar, the court had not given a deadline for the Securities and Exchange Board of India to complete its probe. “The Hon’ble Court did not give any directions either to the Union Government or the SEBI to submit status report or conclusive report to this Hon'ble Court,” the August 5 order said.

Tiwari challenged this order “on the grounds of no reasonable cause for registration, which has suspended the Fundamental Right of the petitioner and has closed the door of the Hon’ble Court for the petitioner forever”.

The court’s order stating that the investigation should “preferably” be completed within the three-month timeline did not mean that it had not fixed a deadline, Tiwari added.

The advocate’s appeal also noted the fresh allegations made by Hindenburg Research against Securities and Exchange Board of India chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch.

The American short-seller claimed that the couple had “hidden stakes” in offshore entities tied to stock price manipulation and money laundering by the Adani Group.

On Sunday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India said that Madhabi Buch had disclosed details about her security holdings and recused herself in matters involving a potential conflict of interest.

The securities market regulator also said that it has adequate internal mechanisms for addressing any conflict of interest, which include a “disclosure framework and provision for recusal”.

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