JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE

Adani Hindenburg Issue

The Congress party has escalated its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the Adani-Hindenburg issue. On Monday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called for the resignation of SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, citing new allegations that she conducted transactions from her personal email account after joining SEBI in 2018.

Now let us understand what is a Joint Parliamentary committee?

A JPC is an ad-hoc committee established by Parliament to investigate specific issues or legislation. It consists of members from both Houses and includes representatives from both ruling and opposition parties. Chaired by a Lok Sabha member appointed by the Speaker, the JPC has the authority to gather evidence from various experts and organizations.

The committee’s findings, while advisory and not binding, are often accepted by the government, especially when the JPC includes a majority of MPs from the ruling party. Previous JPCs have investigated high-profile cases such as the Bofors scandal, Harshad Mehta stock market scam, and the National Register of Citizens.

As the demand for a JPC on the Adani-Hindenburg issue gains momentum, all eyes are on Parliament to see if this call for greater scrutiny will be heeded.