A United States federal court has declined to immediately permit the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to withdraw the criminal indictment against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, Vneet Jaain and other accused in the alleged multi-million-dollar bribery and securities fraud case, holding that the prosecution had failed to provide an adequate legal and factual basis for abandoning the case.
Senior Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York directed the DOJ to file a detailed explanation by July 13, 2026, setting out every ground on which it seeks dismissal of the indictment with prejudice, supported by sufficient factual material. The Court observed that the government’s application under Rule 48(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure contained only a terse, bland and conclusory statement, which did not enable the Court to exercise its judicial discretion while considering the request for dismissal.
The Court emphasised that Rule 48(a) operates as a judicial safeguard requiring prosecutors to disclose adequate reasons before criminal proceedings can be terminated. It observed that the provision serves as a “sunshine” requirement to ensure transparency in prosecutorial decision-making and held that, without sufficient reasoning and supporting facts, it could not undertake the analysis necessary to determine whether the request for dismissal ought to be granted.
The order came after the DOJ moved an application on May 18 seeking withdrawal of all criminal charges against the accused. The department had stated that, after reviewing the matter, it had decided, in the exercise of its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to pursuing the criminal prosecution against the individual defendants. However, under US law, such withdrawal requires judicial approval before the indictment can be formally dismissed.
The criminal prosecution originated from allegations relating to a proposed 12-gigawatt solar power project in India. According to the indictment filed in November 2024, the accused allegedly orchestrated a scheme to secure power supply agreements from State electricity distribution companies by promising bribes to public officials, thereby making the project commercially viable.
Federal prosecutors had alleged that bribes amounting to approximately Rs. 2,029 crore, equivalent to about $265 million, were promised to officials of various State electricity distribution companies. Of this amount, nearly Rs. 1,750 crore was allegedly earmarked for officials in Andhra Pradesh to facilitate procurement of seven gigawatts of solar power.
The indictment further alleged that Adani Group entities raised more than $3 billion through loans and securities from investors in the United States while concealing the alleged bribery arrangement. It also alleged that Adani entities issued $750 million in senior secured notes in September 2021, approximately one-fourth of which were acquired by US-based investors. On the basis of these allegations, the defendants were charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The Adani Group has consistently denied all allegations and has maintained that the prosecution is legally unsustainable.
The Court’s latest order came shortly after Gautam Adani’s legal team filed a detailed application urging the Court to approve the DOJ’s motion to dismiss the indictment with prejudice as well as the proposed settlement in the parallel civil enforcement proceedings initiated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing disclosed, for the first time, the extent of the defence’s efforts to persuade federal prosecutors to abandon the prosecution. According to the submission, the legal strategy commenced shortly after the SEC informed the Court in January 2026 that it had been unable to serve summons upon Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani in India for over 14 months.
The defence stated that it submitted a 118-page legal memorandum accompanied by a nine-page covering letter, followed by several additional written submissions and oral presentations between February and April 2026. In all, nearly 500 pages comprising factual material, legal submissions, expert opinions and supporting documents were placed before the DOJ between February 3 and April 17, 2026.
The filing further revealed that the defence relied upon nearly 200 pages of expert reports prepared by several eminent legal and policy experts, including a professor of securities law at Harvard Law School, a former Commissioner and Acting Chairman of the SEC, a former Chief Justice of India, and a former Chairperson of India’s Central Electricity Authority who had also served as a Member of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. Although the filing did not identify the experts by name, it stated that their opinions formed part of the material submitted to persuade prosecutors that the criminal case should not proceed.
Until the DOJ files its detailed explanation and the Court considers the same, the criminal indictment against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and the other accused will remain pending before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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