Congress demands discussion on Adani indictment in Parliament

New Delhi: As both chambers convened for the third day of the winter session on Wednesday, the Congress called for a debate on the Adani case in the Parliament.

Before the session started today, Congress MPs Manish Tewari, Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Manickam Tagore filed notices of postponement in this respect.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore said in a letter sent to the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha today, “I hereby give notice of my intention to ask for leave to move a motion for the adjournment of the business of the house to discuss a definite matter of urgent importance.”

“The Adani Group is negatively impacted by the recent US indictment of Gautam Adani, which included more than $265 million in bribery for solar power transactions and securities fraud. India’s integrity and international reputation are called into question by the Modi government’s inaction on this issue. The notification said that PM Modi was required to respond to inquiries about his ties with Adani.

The letter went on to say, “The Andhra Pradesh government is allegedly thinking of terminating its solar power agreement with SECI, claiming that Adani paid the Jagan Mohan Reddy regime bribes totaling 21,750 crore. I call for a prompt conversation and a CBI investigation into these claims.

“I hereby give notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to move the following motion for the suspension of business listed for November 27, 2024,” said Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala in a notice on the same topic. To debate the alarming disclosures in a US court accusation that the Adani Group bribed state officials to obtain power supply deals via SECl bids, this House should halt all planned activity.

“These claims expose serious regulatory shortcomings in guaranteeing fair competition and indicate pervasive misconduct in public procurement procedures. According to the notice, “the indictment also raises critical concerns about the misuse of public sector entities, the erosion of institutional integrity, and the lack of transparency in dealings by regulatory bodies like SEBI under its chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch.”

“This matter necessitates the immediate consultation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the implications of these allegations for governance, public accountability, and the credibility of India’s democratic institutions,” it said.

In the Rajya Sabha, Surjewala has also issued a Suspension of Business Notice in accordance with Rule 267 to address the Gautam Adani indictment.

A notice of adjournment motion was also sent to the Lok Sabha by Congress MP Manish Tewari, who called for a debate on the “impact on India as a business destination and the robustness of our regulatory and oversight processes, following two indictments in the United States against the Adani conglomerate.”

In a filing with the stock exchanges earlier in the day, the Adani Group, however, denied the alleged bribery charges brought by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against Gautam Adani, the group’s founder and chairman, his nephew Sagar Adani, and Vineet Jaain, MD and CEO of Adani Green Energy.

AGEL referred to the press coverage of the purported bribery and corruption accusations against Adani personnel as “inaccurate” in their submission.

According to media reports, the indictment charges three of our directors—Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain—with violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Adani Green Energy Ltd. remarked, “Such statements are incorrect.””Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with any violation of the FCPA in the counts set forth in the indictment of the US DOJ or civil complaint of the US SEC,” said the statement.

Individual charges against a defendant are referred to as counts in a formal indictment.

According to the filing, the five-count DoJ Indictment does not include or omit Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, or Vneet Jaain in Count One: “Conspiracy to Violate the FCPA.” Count Five also makes no reference to these three individuals.

“Conspiracy to obstruct justice.” Count Only Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra, and Rupesh Agarwal of Azure Power and CDPQ (Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec), a Canadian institutional investor and Azure’s biggest shareholder, are named in one of the indictments, which relates to the corruption and bribery charges.

According to the statement, the sole charges against Adani officials are “alleged securities fraud conspiracy,” “alleged wire fraud conspiracy,” and “alleged securities fraud.” The case and the indictment are based only on allegations that bribery was discussed or offered; the DoJ Indictment provides no proof that Adani executives paid bribes to Indian government officials.

One of the biggest infrastructure companies in India, the Adani Group has significant interests in the international energy and logistics sectors.

The Indian conglomerate has been growing its business in foreign markets in recent years and is now directly competing with a number of US and Chinese companies in countries including Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Israel, Australia, and others.

The group’s market valuation has dropped by around USD 55 billion across its 11 listed firms since the US DoJ Indictment was announced.