How India’s scandal-hit Adani Group uses legal threats to silence critics
- US investment firm Hindenburg Research said the company had long used the threat of litigation to shield itself from greater scrutiny
- ‘The Adani Group believes strongly in the freedom of the press and like all companies retains the right to defend itself,’ a conglomerate spokesperson said
Independent Indian journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is being sued by tycoon Gautam Adani’s business empire in six different courts – and he is not allowed to speak about the conglomerate or its owner.
US investment firm Hindenburg Research, whose explosive report on Adani Group last month triggered a stock rout that wiped US$120 billion off its value, said the company had long used the threat of litigation to shield itself from greater scrutiny.
Hindenburg is a short-seller that not only tracks corporate wrongdoing but also makes money by betting on shares falling.
I was told that I could not comment on the activities of Mr Gautam Adani and his corporate conglomerate. So I don’t want to commit contempt of court
It accused the globe-spanning ports-to-power conglomerate of accounting fraud and stock manipulation, adding that “investors, journalists, citizens and even politicians have been afraid to speak out for fear of reprisal”.
Thakurta, 67, was hit with six defamation actions – three of them criminal – after writing a series of reports on Adani that included accusations a top judge gave it preferential treatment.
He could be jailed if convicted and a court order prevents him from writing or speaking about the business or its owner.
“A gag order was served on me,” he said. “I was told that I could not comment on the activities of Mr Gautam Adani and his corporate conglomerate. So I don’t want to commit contempt of court.”
