Fourth Bombay High Court Judge Recuses from Hearing HDFC Bank CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan’s Bribery Case

There is again a controversial news related to MD&CEO of HDFC Bank. After Supreme Court Refused to hear HDFC Bank CEO’s Plea for FIR Cancellation and sent him back to Bombay High Court, now again one more judge of Bombay High Court has stepped back from hearing his case. Earlier also, there was delay in hearing the case and judges had recused themselves from hearing the case. So, he had filed plea in Supreme Court but Supreme Court refused to hear his plea and sent him back to Bombay High Court.

The Lilavati trust has filed FIR against MD&CEO of HDFC Bank accusing him of bribery and misuse of power.

Why are judges stepping back?

So far, four judges from the Bombay High Court have refused to hear Jagdishan’s plea. In legal terms, they have “recused” themselves, which means they stepped aside from the case, usually to avoid a conflict of interest or because of personal or professional reasons.

The latest judge to recuse himself is Justice Gautam Ankhad, who did not explain why he took this step. This happened on Wednesday when the case came before a two-judge bench including Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Ankhad. Justice Ghuge confirmed the recusal and said the case would now go to a new bench that doesn’t include either of them.

Before this, three other judges also stepped aside:

1. Justice Rajesh Patil – He stepped back on June 18, the same day Jagdishan approached the court. His colleague Justice Ajey Gadkari said Justice Patil does not hear cases related to HDFC.
2. Justice Sarang Kotwal – Also recused himself without giving a reason.
3. Justice Jitendra Jain – On June 26, he said he owned HDFC Bank shares, which led the opposite lawyer (Nitin Pradhan, representing Prashant Mehta from the Trust) to raise an objection. Justice Jain then recused himself too.

Because of these recusals, the case has not been heard for weeks.

What did HDFC Bank MD&CEO Jagdishan do next?

Since he couldn’t get a hearing in the Bombay High Court, Jagdishan moved to the Supreme Court. He said the delay was harming his personal and professional image, and he wasn’t even involved in the alleged incident.

But on July 4, a Supreme Court bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice R Mahadevan refused to hear the plea. They said the case was already scheduled for July 14 in the Bombay High Court. The bench told Jagdishan’s lawyers to come back to the Supreme Court only if the matter wasn’t taken up on that date.

However, since Justice Ankhad recused himself after that, it now looks like the July 14 hearing may also get postponed.

More judges stayed away earlier too

This is not the first time Lilavati Hospital-related matters have caused judges to step aside. Earlier, seven other judges also refused to hear similar matters because of past links with the hospital trust. These judges include:

• Justice Revati Mohite Dere
• Justice GS Kulkarni
• Justice Arif Doctor
• Justice BP Colabawalla
• Justice MM Sathaye
• Justice RI Chagla
• Justice Sharmila Deshmukh

What are the charges in the FIR?

The Lilavati trust has mentioned following allegations against MD&CEO of HDFC Bank:

• Paying ₹2.05 crore in unaccounted cash to Jagdishan, recorded in a seized cash diary.
• Depositing ₹25 crore of Trust funds into an HDFC Bank account without any board resolution or approval.
• Attempting to bribe senior doctors with ₹1.5 crore, disguised as a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) donation, to suppress or destroy evidence.
• Forging payment vouchers and misusing CSR funds for personal gain.
• Using institutional influence to protect ousted trustees and suppress important disclosures.
• Subjecting Kishore Mehta, an 84-year-old trustee, to over 100 legal summons.