‘Clean chit’: NDTV glosses over SC panel’s inconclusive report on Adani-Hindenburg allegations

As the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee observed on Friday that there was “no coherent pattern of abusive trading” by the Adani group and that some of the charges were “still under investigation”, Adani-owned media house NDTV summed up the 173-page report in the catchphrase: “clean chit” for the group companies.

The expert panel report pertains to the investigations against Adani group for alleged violation of minimum public share-holding, disclosure of related party transactions and stock price manipulations. The allegations were stirred by a report titled, ‘Adani Group: How the world’s 3rd richest man is pulling the largest con in corporate history’, published by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research on January 24. While the allegations were already being investigated by market regulator Sebi, the top court also formed an expert panel in March to probe the matter.   

In a barrage of reports and TV discussions on NDTV since the release of the expert panel report, the phrase “clean chit”, purportedly adopted from the investors’ lexicon, has appeared frequently.

Some of the headlines on NDTV read: Supreme Court panel's clean chit to Adani group: prima facie no violation; What experts said on Supreme Court panel's clean chit to Adani group; Opinion: After expert panel's clean chit to Adani group, big questions for Congress; Supreme Court-appointed panel's clean chit to Adani group; "Should calm ruffled feathers": Mukul Rohatgi on Supreme Court panel's clean chit to Adani group.

In a TV report on the matter, BQ Prime executive editor Niraj Shah also emphasised that “now the Supreme court committee has given a clean chit” and from the “equity watchers perspective… it is the biggest shot in the arm”.

This is not an exhaustive list. However, it is in stark contrast to the studied silence maintained by the news network early this year after Hindenburg Research published its report.

While the reports on the news network emphasise on “no evidence of any wrongdoing” by the company, which the anchors say could be “effectively seen as a clean chit for the Adani group”, most of them do not mention that the committee’s report is not conclusive and that the investigation is still underway. Most of the reports also do not carry the disclosure that the NDTV is owned by the Adani group.

The reports laud the group’s efforts to “comfort its investors” by paying of debt and infusing fresh investment in the group companies, however, they leave out crucial information on the on-going investigations in the matter, including the committee’s observation that the Sebi “suspects wrongdoing” on the ownership of foreign portfolio investors, however, it has not been able to point out the violations.

The expert committee has also said that it cannot express a view on the related party transactions in connection with 13 overseas entities, which have been on the Sebi radar since October 2020, as the market regulator is still investigating the transactions.

It further said that the committee would be “unable to comment without further input”, except to state that the “investigations must be completed in a time bound manner” as per law. 

Unlike NDTV’s sweeping conclusion, most other publications including the Economic Times, Business Today, Outlook India and Mint reported that the Supreme Court panel’s report states that it cannot conclude currently that the Sebi has failed on the Adani-Hindenburg allegations. 

source https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/05/20/clean-chit-ndtv-glosses-over-sc-panels-inconclusive-report-on-adani-hindenburg-allegations