Arrest warrants were issued in the United States for Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, after a grand jury in New York indicted the business tycoon and seven others on charges of bribery of $265 million (around Rs 2,029 crore) on Wednesday (November 20), according to a Reuters report.
Lisa H Miller, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, accused Adani and his associates of bribing Indian government officials and conspiring to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts “through corruption and fraud at the expense of US investors”.
What is an indictment in the US legal system and what does it mean for Adani and his alleged conspirators? What is likely to happen next? We explain.
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, “An indictment is a formal written accusation” issued against a party charged with a crime, following a step-by-step process.
After investigating an alleged offense, the police hand over the evidence to a public prosecutor — a lawyer representing either the state or federal government, depending on whether the accusations relate to state or federal offenses. If the prosecutor believes a serious crime or a “felony” has been committed, she may then initiate the selection of a grand jury.
A grand jury is a panel, composed of people selected randomly from a “fair cross-section” of citizens living within the jurisdiction of the court that may hear the case. It can include up to 23 people in the State of New York, with a minimum of 16 jurors required to be present to hear evidence.
This step is crucial, as according to the official Grand Juror’s Handbook for the State of New York (where Adani and his associates have been charged), “In New York State, a person cannot be brought to trial for a felony unless that person has been indicted by a grand jury.”
Unlike a trial jury that one sees in legal procedural dramas or movies, the purpose of a grand jury is not to determine the innocence or guilt of an accused person. While a trial jury must determine if a person is guilty “beyond reasonable doubt”, a grand jury needs to meet a lower standard. As an additional step to the criminal trial process, the grand jury must decide if the evidence on record is enough to necessitate holding a trial at all.
If the grand jury deems the evidence sufficient, it issues an “indictment” with a list of formal charges against the accused. The case will then be taken to trial for a final hearing and decision.
Grand jury proceedings are also held in secret, as opposed to trial proceedings open to the public. To deliver an indictment, there need not be unanimous agreement among the jurors, unlike when the case goes to trial. In New York, a minimum of 12 jurors (out of the 16 to 23 who have heard the evidence) must agree on whether to issue an indictment.
In Adani’s case, following the indictment, the trial will likely move to the “arraignment” stage. The judge will communicate the charges and decide whether to grant bail to the accused persons, who will, in turn, decide whether to plead guilty or not guilty in response to the charges. If they plead not guilty, the case will proceed to a jury trial.
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