He was responding to a tweet by Palak Shah, who said that government, SEBI should thoroughly investigate entire Hindenburg Saga.
"Adani short-Old Cartel inside job? Govt, SEBI shud throughly investigate entire Hindenburg Saga. Sources say there's domestic angle to it. Report insights were provided by team of Mumbai research analysts for dual purpose-political controversy & short selling," tweeted Palak Shah, who is the author of The Market Mafia.
To this Shankar Sharma replied: " Oh come on. Stop going down conspiracy theories. If they have shorted, and their facts are wrong, they will pay the price. It's time we grew up as a capital market. We can't stifle research opinion, however unpalatable it may be,"
"Focus on what they are saying. Not on WHY they are saying. I have nothing for or against the Group. I ONLY support research freedom. Else, even the most developed & democratic part of India, its Stock Market , will become another dictatorship, with only sterilized opinion," he tweeted.
Hindenburg Research said on Wednesday it holds short positions in Adani Group companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments, sending shares of companies in the Indian conglomerate sliding.
The short-seller said seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside on a fundamental basis due to sky-high valuations and that "key listed Adani companies have also taken on substantial debt" which has "put the entire group on precarious financial footing".
Adani Group termed a Hindenburg Research report on the group “malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale" and said is exploring legal option.
Shares of the Adani Group companies lost ground on Friday, extending their losses from Wednesday's trading session.
On Friday, five Adani Group stocks i.e. Adani Enterprises, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Ports & SEZ hit lower circuits.
It comes at a time when Adani Enterprises Ltd's follow-on public offer (FPO) worth ₹20,000 crore kicked off on Friday. It will sell shares in the price band of ₹3,112 to ₹3,276 apiece and the issue will close on January 31, 2023. The Adani Group company on Wednesday said it has raised ₹5,985 crore from anchor investors ahead of the offer.
