New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS): A PIL has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre and the SEBI to inquire into alleged "criminal conspiracy" behind the Hindenburg report into Adani Group of companies, leading to crashing of its stock and huge losses to investors.

The plea, moved by advocate M.L. Sharma, contended that US resident Nate Anderson of Hindenburg Research and his Indian entities "hatched a criminal conspiracy, did short sale in hundreds of billion dollars prior and thereafter on 25th January 2023, they released a concocted news as research report qua to the Adani Group of the companies, got crash in the share market and squared up their short sell position at the lowest rate".

American short seller Hindenburg Research's report about Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has led to a stock rout, erasing over $ 100 billion from his empire and pushing him down on the global rich list. The Adani group rubbished the allegations made by the Hindenburg Research.

Sharma's plea added: "They (Hindenburg) secured billions of profits by butchering citizens of India. However, SEBI did not suspend trading in the stock specially qua to the Adani group of the companies and allowed short sellers to exploit innocent investors."

The plea pointed out at the constitutional questions which are involved in the issue, which should be decided: Whether SEBI is not duty bound to suspend trading in the short selling stock to protect investors? Whether intentionally short selling to crash stock in share market to square up via crashing market value via concocted artificial means is not a fraud punishable u/s 420 & 120-B of IPC along with the provisions of the SEBI Act.

The plea said: "Whether entire profit in short selling via artificial conspiracy crashing stock value is not liable to be recovered from the short sellers couple with penalty and prosecution u/s u/s 420 & 120-B of IPC r.w. 15HA Sebi Act-1992."

It demanded that court "issue writ of mandamus to the respondents to conduct inquiry to prosecute & register FIR. u/s 420 & 120-B of IPC r.w. S.15HA SEBI Act against the short sellers (Mr. Anderson and his associate (in India/US) for exploiting innocent Investors via short selling under the garb of artificial crashing via short selling couple with further direction to recover their turnover of short selling with penalty to compensate investors in the interest of justice".