SEBI chairperson should be sacked, says N. Ram

N. Ram calls for SEBI chairperson's dismissal due to alleged conflict of interest in Adani Group investigation.

In the light of the latest revelations by Hindenburg Research on the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch’s alleged conflict of interest in investigating the Adani Group, N. Ram, Director, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Ltd., on Friday said Ms. Buch should be sacked.

What she has done and her not answering the questions raised were indefensible, Mr. Ram said.

Addressing the gathering at a seminar on ‘Hindenburg Report, Adani Group and SEBI: need for independent probe’, organised by the Indian School of Social Sciences here, Mr. Ram said the comprehensive report published by Hindenburg Research was a great model for investigative journalism. “In any financial scam — be it Bofors or Rafale (fighter jet) scams — cover-ups are natural. Whether it is done efficiently or crudely is the question. Our institutions have failed miserably,” he said, and asked, “Who appointed the SEBI’s members and the Chairperson?”

Underlining that he was not questioning the motives of the Supreme Court, Mr. Ram said the top court had not looked into the case in depth. “In the electoral bonds case, we have to appreciate the Supreme Court. But in this case, which has an equal importance, the court has failed – especially the three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud,” he said, and asked why the top court had accepted the SEBI’s assurances and not inquired into outcome of the investigations done by the SEBI.

He further said that two or three questions had to be asked in the incident. “Are the investments made by the SEBI chairperson or members against the code of conduct? Was the investment disclosed? In the Adani investigation, did she [SEBI chairperson] recuse herself?,” he asked.

Professor Venkatesh Athreya, economist, spoke about the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the Adani Group, and contended that ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ was held with the help of the Adani Group. “The problem is not just Adani or the SEBI chairman, but the economic policies of the Indian government,” he said.

CPI (M) leader G. Balakrishnan and senior advocate R. Vaigai too spoke.