-6978da05691f6.jpg)
Bangla Press Desk: Lawyers representing Gautam and Sagar Adani have sought time until 30 January from the US court for reporting the status of their discussion with the US securities regulator on its motion seeking service of summons through email.
On 22 January, the day after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a motion for an order authorizing Alternative Service Methods, New York law firm Sullivan and Cromwell LLP contacted the SEC on behalf of the Adanis to discuss the matter.
The next day, the Adani lawyers requested the Court for the Eastern District of New York to defer its ruling on the SEC’s motion pending their parley with the US regulator. The court ordered the parties to provide an update on their discussions by 26 January.
Responding to this order, the Adani lawyers filed an update on 26 January, seeking time until 30 January.
“Counsel for the parties have exchanged comments on the stipulation, and counsel for Defendants are continuing to discuss the stipulation with their clients, both of whom are located in India. Counsel for the parties fully expect to finalize the stipulation shortly, and, in light of the time difference with India, we will file it by no later than the morning of Friday, 30 January,” the latest filing by Sullivan and Cromwell LLP said.
The New York court has accepted the request.
On 21 January, the SEC sought court permission to serve notices via email, following its unsuccessful attempts to serve defendants Gautam and Sagar Adani under the Hague Convention.
As reported by The Indian Express, India’s Ministry of Law and Justice twice declined to formally serve summons issued by the SEC on Gautam and Sagar Adani, citing technical and legal objections.
In April 2025, the law ministry turned down the SEC’s request on the grounds that the authenticity of the documents could not be verified as “the forwarding letter bears no seal & signature and the Model Form bears no seal of the requesting authority as well.”
After the SEC countered that the Hague Convention does not mandate such formalities and resubmitted the documents, the law ministry again denied service of summons citing US law.
“The documents have been checked and in view of the Rule 5(b) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Informal and Other Procedures, 17 C.F.R. § 202.5(b), it is found that the above mentioned summon does not cover in the above said categories. Therefore, the same is returned herewith,” the ministry wrote back last December.
In its motion before the New York court, the SEC pointed out that the “objection has no basis in the (Hague) Convention, which governs service procedures, not the SEC’s underlying authority to bring enforcement actions.”
In November 2024, the SEC filed civil charges, alleging that Gautam and Sagar Adani were engaged in a bribery scheme during a September 2021 note offering by Adani Green that raised $750 million, including approximately $175 million from US investors.
The Adani group has repeatedly dismissed the SEC’s allegations as baseless, adding that it will seek all possible legal recourse.
In a filing to the stock exchanges last Friday, Adani Green Energy said, “The Company is not a party to these proceedings, and no charges have been brought against it. Further, as clarified in our intimation to the stock exchanges dated 27 November, 2024 (1:16:32hrs), the Defendants have not been charged with violation/(s) of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act i.e. there are no charges of bribery or corruption against the Defendants. The SEC proceedings are civil in nature.”
BP/SP
