The Securities and Exchange Board of India has disposed of insider trading proceedings against Pranav Adani and two other individuals in a case linked to Adani Green Energy's (AGEL's) 2021 acquisition of SB Energy, citing insufficient evidence to sustain charges.
In a 50-page order, Sebi said although the three individuals qualified as connected persons under insider trading rules, it was unable to establish that they possessed or communicated unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) related to the transaction.
In a separate 63-page order, the markets regulator also dropped insider trading charges against Vinod Bahety, former head of mergers and acquisitions at Adani group, and three associated entities. These proceedings, too, pertained to trades executed ahead of AGEL's acquisition of SB Energy.
Sebi had alleged that Pranav Adani, who was aware of AGEL's negotiations, passed on UPSI to Kunal Shah and Nrupal Shah, who then purchased AGEL shares on May 17-18, 2021 -- just days before the deal was announced on May 19 -- generating notional gains of Rs 51 lakh and Rs 40 lakh, respectively.
The noticees denied the charges, arguing that detailed media reports on May 16 had already placed the information in public domain, and that their trades were based on news flow rather than insider information.
The regulator added that media coverage of the deal before the trades complicated efforts to prove that the information was 'not generally available'.
All three noticees had initially sought settlement in January 2024, but withdrew their applications in 2024-2025, prompting Sebi to resume adjudication. With the evidentiary gaps unresolved, the regulator closed the proceedings without penalties or disgorgement.
Meanwhile, Sebi had alleged that Bahety, who was included in AGEL's internal email exchanges and deal discussions in late April and May 2021, had access to UPSI and communicated it to Tarun Jain, who in turn executed trades through Rajtaru Enterprises and MC Jain Infoservices.
The entities bought 200,000 AGEL shares on May 14, 2021, accounting for 29 per cent of the day's NSE volume, and exited the position after the announcement, booking Rs 3.51 crore in profits.
The noticees contended that the deal was still at a preliminary stage until mid-May, and therefore, did not constitute UPSI. They further argued that a May 11 conference call cited by Sebi was unrelated to the deal.
This marks the second favourable order for the conglomerate in recent months.
In September, Sebi had cleared Adani group companies and several other entities of violating related-party transaction norms in matters arising from allegations made by US short-seller Hindenburg Research.
-- Business Standard
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