The Supreme Court of India on Friday observed that the alleged large-scale banking fraud involving the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) and its firms requires a “thorough investigation” after the CBI informed the court that the estimated loss in seven cases under probe stood at around Rs 27,337 crore.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a public interest litigation filed by former bureaucrat E A S Sarma, who sought a court-monitored probe into alleged loan frauds exceeding Rs 40,000 crore involving ADAG firms led by industrialist Anil Ambani.
The CBI informed the apex court that nine FIRs had been registered in connection with the matter. Of these, charge sheets have already been filed in two cases, while investigations are ongoing in the remaining seven.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, questioned why Anil Ambani had not been arrested despite probe agencies allegedly identifying him as the “kingpin” of the scam. He described it as “puzzling” that both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate had referred to the matter as a Rs 27,000-crore scam but had not taken custodial action against Ambani.
The bench, however, observed that the Supreme Court has consistently maintained restraint in directing arrests and said the decision on custodial interrogation must remain with the investigating agencies. The court cautioned against sensationalising the investigation and stressed that the focus should remain on collecting relevant evidence and ensuring a fair probe.
“We do not want prejudice to either side, but the matter requires a thorough investigation and it should be completed in a timely manner so that there is public confidence,” the bench remarked.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Ambani, argued that his client was fully cooperating with the investigation and questioned how the petitioner had accessed a charge sheet before the concerned court had even taken cognisance of it. “Maybe I was cheated,” Sibal submitted on behalf of Ambani.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the investigating agencies, informed the court that two FIRs had been registered against Reliance Telecom Ltd based on complaints filed by the State Bank of India. He added that multiple teams of investigating officers had been formed for a speedy probe, searches had been conducted at 14 locations and around 3,960 documents had been collected.
Mehta also informed the court that 31 lookout circulars had been issued and two persons had been arrested so far in connection with the ongoing investigations. The agencies also shared tentative timelines for filing charge sheets in the remaining cases.
The apex court noted that it had earlier intervened to activate the probe agencies and said it may step in further if it finds shortcomings in the investigation. The matter has now been posted for further hearing in July.
Earlier, the court had expressed displeasure over the “reluctance” shown by the CBI and ED in probing the alleged fraud and directed both agencies to carry out a “fair, dispassionate, transparent and time-bound” investigation.
The ED has alleged defaults of Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Home Finance and Rs 8,200 crore in Reliance Commercial Finance, citing large-scale diversion of public funds. The agency is also probing allegations involving forged bank guarantees submitted by Reliance Power to the Solar Energy Corporation of India, allegedly causing losses exceeding Rs 105 crore.
