By Arpan Chaturvedi
NEW DELHI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - India's top court, hearing
two petitions related to large investor losses following a
report by a U.S. short seller on the Adani conglomerate, said on
Friday that investor interests need to be protected.
"Now the stock market is not a place where only high-value
investors invest. It is also a place where ... investment is
made by a wide spectrum of middle class," Chief Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud said.
"The point of concern here is how (to) ... protect the
interest of investors," Chandrachud said.
The petitions were filed days after the Jan. 24 report by
New York-based Hindenburg Research, which accused the Adani
group of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock
manipulation.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate, controlled by billionaire
Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest people, has seen shares
in its seven companies lose more than $100 billion in market
value since the report was made public. Adani has denied the
charges.
The petitions were filed under a provision of Indian law
that allows any individual to raise an issue concerning public
interest before the Supreme Court.
Chandrachud is part of a three-judge bench hearing the
petitions, one of which asks the court to take action against
Nathan Anderson, who runs Hindenburg Research, for causing
investor losses via short selling.
The hearings will continue on Monday.
Last week, the group's flagship entity Adani Enterprises pulled its secondary share offering, India's largest
ever, because of the selloff.
On Friday, ratings agency Moody's downgraded the ratings
outlook for some of the group's entities in the latest in a
series of blows for the group.
(Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
