New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed three appeals filed by industrialist Anil Ambani and Reliance Communications, refusing to stay proceedings related to the ‘fraud’ classification of their bank accounts.
The tagging followed a forensic audit into loans worth around ₹30,000 crore involving the ADAG group, with allegations of diversion and siphoning of funds.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Shyam Divan and Narender Hooda argued before a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant that the audit violated RBI norms. They contended that such reviews must be conducted by qualified chartered accountants, whereas the नियुक्त forensic auditor, BDO India LLP, did not meet that requirement.
They also stressed that declaring an account as fraudulent carries serious civil and criminal consequences and must strictly follow prescribed procedures.
However, the bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, declined to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s ruling. It noted that the case involved alleged large-scale diversion of public funds and found no prima facie grounds to halt the proceedings.
Appearing for a consortium of banks — including Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank and IDBI Bank — Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the forensic audit, calling the auditor a reputed expert.
The court added that if any procedural lapses are proven during the ongoing trial, the petitioners can seek a fresh audit.
During the hearing, Sibal said Ambani was willing to negotiate a settlement with lenders, offering between ₹5,000 crore and ₹8,000 crore. While Mehta opposed formally recording the offer, arguing it could reopen litigation, the bench noted the statement but clarified it had expressed no opinion on it.
