The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the Adani Group did not need to face more investigations beyond the current scrutiny of the market regulator. This is seen as a major relief for the conglomerate hit hard by a US short-seller’s allegations of wrongdoing. 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has been probing the Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, after US short-seller Hindenburg Research in January 2023 had alleged improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation by the group. 

The Adani Group had denied those allegations, but Hindenburg’s report had still chopped $150 billion off its stock market value. Though some investors’ confidence returned in recent months as Mr Adani won the backing of bankers and investors, the Hindenburg saga and the regulatory scrutiny have weighed on the group’s business dealings and reputation. 

The Supreme Court, which was ruling on cases brought by public interest litigants seeking a special investigation team to probe the matter, said: “the facts of this case do not warrant” such a change, even though the court had the powers to transfer the investigation. 

The verdict signals that there will not be increased regulatory or legal risk on the Adani Group beyond the current SEBI investigation. 

Reflecting that view, shares of various Adani Group companies closed higher on Wednesday, with Adani Energy Solutions up by 11.4 per cent, Adani Total Gas surging by 10 per cent, Adani Green Energy jumping by 5.8 per cent and flagship business Adani Enterprises rising by 2.4 per cent.