The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday criticised the unexplained delay by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in probing the alleged bank loan fraud of more than ₹40,000 crore involving companies of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG).
The Court also pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for registering only one FIR despite receiving complaints from several banks. The Court noted that an FIR was registered in 2025 based on a complaint by State Bank of India, while complaints from other banks were added later by expanding the same FIR.
The Court said this approach does not appear to follow procedural law, as each bank complaint relates to a separate transaction and may require a separate FIR. It also directed the CBI to examine whether there was any collusion by bank officials.
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The Court observed that both the ED and the CBI have already taken considerable time and must now act promptly. It advised the ED to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of senior officers and take all lawful steps to complete the investigation.
A bench led by Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, was hearing a public interest petition filed by former Union Secretary EAS Sarma. The plea seeks a court-monitored investigation into the alleged fraud.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, requested the Court to restrain industrialist Anil Ambani from leaving India, citing past cases where defaulters fled the country. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that Look Out Circulars (LOCs) have already been issued against Ambani and said the government would welcome any restriction imposed by the Court.
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Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Anil Ambani, gave an undertaking that Ambani would not leave India without the Court’s permission. The Court recorded this undertaking and also noted the government’s assurance that all preventive steps would be taken to ensure the investigation is not affected.
The Solicitor General told the Court that the total funds allegedly siphoned off through bank loan frauds amount to around ₹40,000 crore. He also informed that both the ED and the CBI have filed separate status reports in the matter.
When the government said the FIR was based on SBI’s complaint, the Court questioned why separate FIRs were not registered for complaints from other banks. The Court said such complaints are separate transactions and could justify separate FIRs. The government replied that this issue would be examined.
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Prashant Bhushan pointed out that the first forensic findings came from Bank of Baroda in 2020, but the FIR was registered only in 2025. He also noted that the first arrest in the case was made only recently, after the Supreme Court issued notice.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi denied any siphoning of funds and argued that genuine loan defaults should not be treated as criminal cases. He suggested that the government could form a committee to assess actual dues instead of pursuing prosecution.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for ADAG companies, said that Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure have already repaid around ₹20,000 crore and that there was no diversion of funds. The government responded that it must be examined whether repayments were made using loans taken by other group companies.
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The Court also noted allegations that Reliance Communications, which had dues of about ₹47,000 crore, was sold at a very low value. At this stage, the Court remarked that insolvency laws are being misused.
In its affidavit, the ED informed the Court that it has registered three money laundering cases under the PMLA and three cases under FEMA. It has provisionally attached assets worth over ₹12,000 crore, conducted multiple searches, issued hundreds of summons, made several arrests, and filed prosecution complaints.
The ED alleged large-scale diversion of public funds in cases related to Reliance Home Finance, Reliance Commercial Finance, Reliance Communications, and Reliance Power. It also informed the Court about arrests and attachment of assets in these cases.
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The petitioner argued that the investigation is incomplete and deliberately avoids examining the role of bank officials. He said that many forensic audit reports point to serious irregularities and that a court-monitored probe is needed to ensure transparency and accountability.
The petition also relied on investigative reports and forensic audits which allegedly show large-scale diversion of funds, use of shell companies, and violations of banking and regulatory norms. It argued that excluding bank officials from investigation violates constitutional guarantees of equality and fair process.
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Given the large amount of public money involved, the petitioner urged the Court to supervise the investigation and also consider forming an expert committee to suggest reforms to prevent such financial scandals in the future.
