A US district court in New York has granted Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani a preliminary hearing as they move to dismiss a civil fraud case filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The court order, dated April 7 and issued by Judge Nicholas G Garaufis, approves their request for a pre-motion conference ahead of a formal dismissal plea.
This comes after multiple reports claimed that Adani's lawyers on Tuesday said that they plan to seek dismissal of the case.
1 April 2026
Get the latest issue of Outlook Business
The SEC had charged the Adanis in November 2024 with orchestrating a scheme to pay or promise to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian government officials, allegedly to benefit Adani Green Energy a company where both men serve as executives and directors.
The securities fraud case is specifically tied to Adani Green's alleged failure to disclose the scheme in documents related to a $750 million bond offering in 2021.
In a filing at the Brooklyn federal court, lawyers for the Adanis argued that their clients disputed any credible evidence supporting the alleged bribery scheme. The defence further cited the Adanis' lack of involvement in the bond offering and the absence of any intent to defraud or negligence as grounds for dismissal.
Counsel also challenged the geographic reach of the SEC's case, calling the claims "impermissibly extraterritorial", pointing out that the Adanis and all alleged misconduct were based in India, and that the bonds in question were never traded on a US exchange. A formal dismissal motion is expected to be filed by April 30.
Separately, US prosecutors filed a related criminal case against the Adanis and several other defendants in November 2024. That case has seen no public developments since December 2024.
