CBI Gets Court Approval to Arrest Former Reliance Capital Vice Chairman Amitabh Jhunjhunwala
The Special Court on Monday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to formally arrest Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, a former senior executive of the Reliance-ADAG Group, in connection with a bank loan fraud investigation.
Jhunjhunwala is accused of spearheading the diversion of massive bank loans and Line of Credit (LC) facilities issued by multiple institutions, including the State Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, and the erstwhile Syndicate Bank. The diverted funds reportedly resulted in a ₹2,929 crore loss to SBI alone.
He was brought to Mumbai from Delhi’s Tihar Jail via a production warrant. Jhunjhunwala was already lodged in Tihar under a separate money-laundering investigation being conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Following his CBI arrest, he was remanded to judicial custody and is detained at the Arthur Road Jail.
This development comes just days after the CBI filed its initial chargesheet in the RCom case, which lists 16 individuals and entities, including five senior RCom executives and ten bank officials. While Jhunjhunwala was not explicitly named as a primary accused in the first chargesheet, investigators are actively zeroing in on his directives in the fund mismanagement.
Last week, a Delhi court allowed the CBI to produce Jhunjhunwala before a special court in Mumbai. A transit production warrant had already been issued, and on Monday, officials from Tihar Jail brought him before the Mumbai court.
Jhunjhunwala, the former Vice Chairman of Reliance Capital, was earlier arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged multi-crore financial fraud case involving the diversion of funds through group companies linked to industrialist Anil Ambani.
According to the CBI, loan funds were allegedly misused under Jhunjhunwala’s directions, causing losses to the banks. The agency has not named him in the charge sheet related to the alleged misuse of a term loan and letters of credit worth nearly ₹2,000 crore sanctioned by three banks.
However, the CBI told the court that its investigation against Jhunjhunwala is still continuing.
The special court, headed by Judge J.P. Darekar, noted that Jhunjhunwala had no complaints of ill-treatment by either the Tihar Jail authorities or the CBI.
His lawyers, Reeti Upadhyay and Mudit Jain, argued that under the production warrant, he was supposed to be produced before the court on June 5, and that bringing him earlier was not legally valid.
After hearing both sides, the court allowed the CBI’s application and granted permission to formally arrest Jhunjhunwala in accordance with the law.
Since the court proceedings continued beyond working hours, the CBI informed the court that the arrest formalities would take time and that Jhunjhunwala would be produced again on Tuesday after the process was completed. The court directed that he be sent to judicial custody at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai in the meantime.
The court noted that the accused had been brought from Tihar Jail in New Delhi and that there were medical concerns regarding his health. Considering these circumstances, the court ordered that he be kept in judicial custody.
Jhunjhunwala’s lawyer also informed the court that he suffers from a spine fracture and a heart-related ailment. The court directed jail authorities to allow him to wear a Taylor’s brace and take prescribed medicines as per the rules.
The court further directed Arthur Road Jail authorities to provide him with proper bedding, medical care, and treatment whenever required in accordance with prison rules.
