Mahesh Jethmalani Slams Hindenburg Report on SEBI Chief as a ‘Pathetic Damp Squib’

BJP Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani has strongly criticized the latest report by U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, dismissing it as a “pathetic damp squib” aimed at destabilizing India’s stock markets. The report alleges that Madhabi Puri Buch, the head of India’s market regulator SEBI, previously held investments in offshore funds also used by the Adani Group.

Taking to social media platform X, Jethmalani defended Buch and accused Hindenburg of attempting to undermine India’s economic sovereignty. “Hindenburg’s ‘Something big’ is a pathetic damp squib,” Jethmalani wrote, adding that the pre-release publicity of the report indicated its true motive: to destabilize India’s stock markets. He argued that there was nothing new in the allegations against the Adani Group.

Hindenburg Research had teased the report with a cryptic social media post stating, “Something big soon India,” before releasing it. In response, Jethmalani pointed out that SEBI had already issued a notice to Hindenburg seeking details about the Adani short sale, to which the firm had not responded. Instead, Hindenburg launched what Jethmalani described as a baseless attack on Buch, alleging a conflict of interest.

“The picture thus is one of a U.S.-based profiteer who made millions of dollars at the cost of Indian retail investors, now hedging questions legitimately asked by the Indian regulator and brazenly defaming the latter without answering its questions,” Jethmalani stated. He described the situation as reeking of “colonial arrogance of days bygone.”

Jethmalani also criticized left-leaning media outlets for amplifying Hindenburg’s claims and urged the Indian government to take action against what he described as “anti-national” elements aiming to disrupt India’s social fabric, distort its polity, and devastate its economy.

The Hindenburg report has sparked political and financial controversy, with opposition parties calling for a parliamentary inquiry. However, both SEBI and Buch have denied any wrongdoing. Buch emphasized that all disclosure requirements had been followed and that the investments in question were made privately years before she joined SEBI.

The sub-fund in which Buch and her husband invested, IPE-Plus Fund 1, clarified that it had not invested in Adani Group shares, directly or indirectly. The fund’s asset manager stated that the couple’s holdings in the fund were less than 1.5% of the total inflow.

The Adani Group has also refuted the allegations, describing them as “red herrings” intended to malign the conglomerate’s reputation.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has called on the government to address potential conflicts of interest in the SEBI investigation of Adani and has demanded a parliamentary inquiry to fully investigate the matter.