In January 2023 the US short-seller Hindenburg Research published allegations of stock-price manipulation and accounting concerns against the Adani Group. The report preceded a steep fall in group share values.

On 3 January 2024 the Supreme Court declined to transfer the matter away from the market regulator SEBI, upheld SEBI’s investigation as comprehensive — "inspiring confidence" — and directed it to wrap up its remaining probes promptly. A review petition against that order was later dismissed.

What SEBI has said

SEBI stated it had undertaken 24 investigations into the matter, of which 22 had concluded — covering alleged related-party-transaction violations, insider trading, price manipulation and foreign-portfolio-investment rules.

In a later twist, SEBI issued a show-cause notice to Hindenburg itself, alleging it shared an advance copy of its report with a hedge-fund manager. That is an allegation about the short-seller’s conduct — separate from the questions about the Adani Group, which remain the subject of regulatory findings.

Why it still matters

This is, at its core, a test of whether India’s market regulator can investigate a politically connected conglomerate independently and transparently. The courts have backed SEBI’s process; the open question for citizens is whether the concluded findings are published in full, so markets and voters can judge them on the evidence.