Beyond jurisdiction of US SEC to summon Adani; noticeto go via 'proper channel

PTI New Delhi: US SEC will have to serve the summons on Adani Group Founder and Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar in the alleged USD 265 million (Rs 2,200 crore) payoffs through proper diplomatic channels as it has no jurisdiction to summon a foreign national directly, according to sources. US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants Adanis to explain their stand on allegations of paying bribes to secure lucrative solar power contracts but that request will have to follow the established protocol of routing it through the Indian Embassy in the US and following other diplomatic formalities, two sources aware of the matter said.

The US SEC has no jurisdiction over foreign nationals and cannot send anything by post to them. The 1965 Hague Convention and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between India and the US governs such matters. These clearly lay out the established procedure to be followed in such requests. The summons, which is part of the legal docket that SEC filed before a New York court, will take some time before it can actually be served on the Adanis, they said. No summons has been served on Adanis so far. "Within 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it)... you must serve on the plaintiff (SEC) an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," said the US SEC notice of November 21 notice being set through New York Eastern District Court.

"If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You also must file your answer or motion with the court," it added. Gautam Adani, 62, and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar, who is director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy d, allegedly agreed to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials.