While corporate governance issues in India must certainly be scrutinized, the authenticity and motives behind such opaque reports by random foreign entities such as Hindenburg Research are questionable. Despite dressing up their claims in a gloss of research, the answer to these pertinent questions are must – who are the individuals behind these firms? Where is the credibility if allegations can be published without vetted proof? Is this an orchestrated reputational attack based on vested interests to undermine Indian regulators? Without having clear answers to these questions the report based on unnamed sources merits skepticism and the possibility of clandestine agendas cannot be ruled out.While Indian regulators and law enforcement agencies are capable and only authority to investigate any alleged wrongdoing, they do not need sermons from opaque foreign entities with inherent profit motives and no accountability, transparency or locus standi in India.
External scrutiny can sometimes aid transparency, but it is problematic when foreign entities (without any authority or credibility themselves) lacking domestic jurisdiction pretend to be arbiters of governance and ethics in India based on unverifiable reports. Accountability works both ways.
The most important point in the whole fiasco is that nowhere in Hindenburg’s report is there any concrete evidence actually connecting Adani to the SEBI Chairman. The only evident link is SEBI sending a show cause notice to Hindenburg seeking details behind their allegations.
This clearly showcases how invested Hindenburg is in mounting baseless attacks on the regulator, perhaps to evade regulatory scrutiny and investigation into their own speculative motives. By targeting the credibility of the SEBI Chairman, they are trying to prevent legitimate probes into their own unethical practices.
In my opinion before unquestioningly accepting the findings of a random short-seller (may be with an inherent profit motive). Let us not unjustly tarnish the reputation of officials leading robust reform of our capital markets. Indian institutions can defend their own integrity through lawful action if presented with credible evidence rather than relying on some random opaque foreign entities.
We must be cautious of potentially misinformed witch-hunts based on unsubstantiated claims in the era of data manipulation. As a fast growing economy, India remains vulnerable to information attacks aimed at undermining trust in our progress. But our journey towards becoming a leading power cannot be derailed by sensationally orchestrated allegations from abroad. Our system has adequate lawful means to defend its integrity against any credible charges.
Left unchecked, such sensationally crafted allegations serve to only undermine trust in India’s economic progress. As the world’s fastest growing economy, sinister attempts to derail our growth by targeting respected public servants and institutions must be seen for what they truly are – self-serving attacks on the country’s interests.
Nowhere in Hindenburg’s report is there any concrete evidence actually connecting Adani to the SEBI Chairman. The only evident link is SEBI sending a show cause notice to Hindenburg seeking details behind their allegations.
In summary, Hindenburg’s report appears to be a mere self-serving speculation to evade regulatory action. By targeting the SEBI Chairman’s reputation without demonstrated evidence, they seek to prevent investigation into their own unethical market manipulation. But India’s regulators cannot be deterred by opaque offshore entities making baseless allegations to protect their vested interests. Our system has adequate lawful means to defend its integrity when confronted with credible proof rather than relying on hearsay.
This article is authored by Khushbu Jain, practicing advocate at the Supreme Court and founding partner of the law firm, Ark Legal. All views expressed are personal.
