New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Union government, Anil Ambani, and Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM) in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a court-monitored investigation into an alleged large-scale, organised bank fraud by the company and its group entities.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, along with Justice K. Vinod Chandran, directed all respondents to file their responses within three weeks.
The PIL calls for the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising officers from the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), arguing that only a judicially supervised investigation can ensure a “comprehensive, coordinated, and transparent” probe into the alleged offences.
According to the petition, the CBI’s FIR filed in August 2025 addresses only a fraction of the alleged financial irregularities, despite extensive evidence pointing to fund diversion, round-tripping, fictitious transactions, and systematic misuse of bank loans by RCOM and its group companies.
The plea highlighted that the State Bank of India (SBI), the lead lender in a consortium that extended Rs. 31,580 crore between 2013 and 2017, delayed lodging an FIR for five years, despite possessing a detailed forensic audit report since 2020.
“Despite having access to the 2020 Forensic Audit Report, which detailed diversion of funds, evergreening of loans, fictitious transactions, and use of shell entities, the bank took no statutory action until August 2025. This delay raises questions about whether officials acted in collusion or with deliberate intent to protect the borrower group,” the PIL stated.
It added, “The five-year delay in filing the FIR by the bank suggests involvement of bank officials and other public servants whose conduct enabled or concealed the fraud.”
The petition, citing SBI and RBI forensic audits, the Grant Thornton CIRP report, technical analyses, investigative journalism, and the Cobrapost report, alleged that the ADA Group orchestrated a “sustained, organised and coordinated scheme” to siphon public funds.
The PIL also pointed to suspected shell companies such as Netizen Engineering Pvt Ltd and Kunj Bihari Developers Pvt Ltd, which were found to be non-existent at their registered addresses, indicating a deliberate corporate structure designed to launder public money.
Despite searches at over 35 locations and alleged frauds exceeding Rs. 20,000 crore, the petition noted that “no arrests have been made, no assets seized, and no accounts frozen,” underlining the need for judicial oversight.
In addition, the PIL sought the constitution of an expert committee under Supreme Court supervision to recommend structural reforms in banking and regulatory oversight.
With IANS inputs