Supreme Court advocates have described the US court’s decision to drop criminal charges against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani on expected lines. The criminal case in the United States against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani came to an end after US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed the criminal charges against them with prejudice.

Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani stated, “this was an expected decision. The judge has given him a complete chit with prejudice; with prejudice means that nothing can happen ever again on this issue in America against the Adanis. I said in 2024 that the case was so misconceived that it almost looked like a witch hunt against the Adanis, prompted by forces which are hostile to the Group.”

While senior advocate Vikas Singh said, “according to me now, with the dismissal of the charges, nothing remains in the US as far as the criminal accusation against the Adani is concerned. So it’s a very categorical order. It has accepted the government’s plea under Section 48A of the Federal Criminal Court justice procedure. And under section 48A, it is the absolute discretion of the government to, with the, of course, approval of the court, accept this kind of giving up of the charge and closing the case… According to me, the case is completely closed because if the state has made an application and the court has accepted it, I don’t see a situation where the prosecution, without the consent of the state, would like to carry this matter on appeal…”

Gautam Adani had welcomed this decision “with humility and deep respect for the judicial process.” “Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering. My deepest gratitude to those who never lost faith in us, in the system and in India’s capacity for justice. We will continue doing what matters: building for our nation, creating value that outlasts us and serving a purpose larger than ourselves. That is our commitment,” he said in a post on X.

The criminal case originated in November 2024, when US prosecutors alleged that Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, former AGEL Chief Executive Officer Vneet Jaain and others were involved in a conspiracy to pay 250 million dollars in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar power contracts projected to generate more than 2 billion dollars in after-tax profits over two decades. Prosecutors also alleged that investors were misled while the Group raised more than 3 billion dollars through loans and bond issuances in US markets. The Adani Group consistently denied the criminal allegations, describing them as baseless and maintaining that it had acted in accordance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements.