Indian SC refuses plea to ‘gag media’ from reporting Adani-Hindenburg issue
New Delhi, February 24 (KMS): The Supreme Court of India has said that it will not injunct media on carrying reports on Hindenburg report on Adani group led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s close friend Gautam Adani till the court pronounces its order on constitution of a committee to examine the matter.
According to Kashmir Media Service, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud said this when Advocate M.L. Sharma mentioned the matter before it. The Chief Justice told Sharma, “We are not going to issue any injunction to the media ever….”
When Sharma repeated his request by saying that the media was creating a sensation, the Chief Justice said, “make a reasonable argument, not for an injunction on the media…”
Sharma’s application is a part of his PIL (Public Interest Litigation), which was filed in connection with the Hindenburg report.
Earlier, on February 17, the apex court said it would not accept sealed cover names of experts suggested by the Indian government for inclusion on the committee to be set up to examine Hindenburg report, which resulted in crashing of share prices of Adani group company and caused massive loss to investors. The top court said it will select experts and maintain full transparency, and if the court were to take names suggested by the Central government, then it would amount to a government constituted committee.
The Adani group has been under severe pressure since the US short-seller Hindenburg Research in its report on January 24 revealed that the group has been involved in fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation for decades. While listed companies of the group lost over $125 billion in market value in three weeks, opposition parties inside and outside Parliament in India attacked the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for the meteoric rise of the conglomerate.
