Adani Ports files plaint against scribe over news report

Ahmedabad: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) on Friday filed a complaint with the Detection of Crime Branch, Ahmedabad, against journalist Ravi Nair over an article published in The Washington Post’s online edition and related social media posts, alleging the use of false and fabricated information that damaged the group’s reputation and caused financial losses to the company and its investors.

The complaint was filed by Dushyant Joshi, deputy general manager at APSEZ, who stated he was authorised through a board resolution dated Nov 5, 2025, to represent the company before police stations, courts and other forums. Joshi said he had earlier submitted an application to the Superintendent of Police, Gandhinagar, on Nov 20, 2025, after which a preliminary inquiry was conducted and the matter was transferred to the Ahmedabad city crime branch for further inquiry.

According to the complaint, an article authored by Nair and others in The Washington Post dated Oct 24, 2025, claimed that the Govt of India and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) had indicated plans for large-scale public fund investment — about $3.9 billion — into Adani Group companies. The complaint said the report referred to specific documents and cited details including conditions, bond ratings and internal approvals.

Joshi alleged that on the same day at 3.43pm, Nair posted on X claiming Indian authorities, in the context of legal actions in the US involving the Adani Group, had planned major LIC investment into Adani businesses. The complaint identifies Nair as a resident of Dwarka, New Delhi, and includes contact details and an email address.

The complaint said LIC publicly rejected the report. On Oct 25, 2025, at 12.10pm, LIC posted from its official X handle “LIC India Forever” denying what it called “false reports” by The Washington Post and stating that investments are made with integrity and due diligence.

Later on Oct 25 at 6.51pm, the complaint said, Nair posted again questioning LIC’s denial and attached screenshots described as portions of documents. Joshi alleged that Nair accused LIC of misleading the public and said LIC’s post was “away from facts and baseless”.

Joshi said APSEZ wrote to LIC on Oct 27, 2025, seeking verification and details regarding the documents circulated on X. The complaint said LIC issued a further public clarification on Oct 28, 2025, stating it had not received or issued any such documents and had not received any govt information or instruction to invest in Adani Group companies. The complaint added that APSEZ submitted LIC’s response and copies of LIC’s disclosures to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India.

“The above facts and circumstances establish that the article written by Ravi Nair and the statements made in it, as well as the documents and information used as the basis for these statements, are false and fabricated from the beginning,” the complaint alleged, adding that the posts and documents caused significant financial loss and created fear among potential investors.

The complaint further alleged that despite no such documents being exchanged between LIC and the Department of Financial Services, Nair “falsely and fabricatedly” wrote and posted details about LIC investing $3.9 billion in Adani Group companies, using “fake and fabricated documents” as genuine for personal financial gain and to damage the reputation of the companies.

The complaint was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 318(4) (cheating), 336(2) (forgery), 336(4) (forgery intending to harm reputation) and 340(2) (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine).