Supreme Court issues fresh notices to Anil Ambani, ADAG over PIL on alleged bank fraud

The Supreme Court on Friday issued fresh notices to Anil Ambani and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) in connection with a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a court-supervised probe into alleged large-scale banking and corporate frauds. The case, filed by petitioner and former union secretary EAS Sarma, alleges systematic diversion of public funds, fabrication of financial statements, and institutional collusion across several ADAG entities.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalia Bagchi, noted that earlier notifications had already been served and now directed further action to be taken to ensure compliance by the relevant court authorities.

The bench directed the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court to ensure that notices are sent to Anil Ambani and ADAG, requiring a compliance report. This comes after the court noted that responses from concerned individuals and entities are still pending. A date has been set for the petition to be heard in 10 days.

The court directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED), to submit case reports in a sealed cover within ten days. These reports are expected to include details of ongoing investigations into alleged fraudulent activities.

Earlier, advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner, alleged that investigating agencies are not probing the alleged complicity of banks and their officials in the suspected large-scale banking fraud.

He asked the court to direct both the CBI and the CEO to submit status reports on their investigations into the possible involvement of the banks and their representatives.

Bhushan confirmed that the authorities registered the FIR in 2025, despite the alleged fraudulent activities dating back to 2007-08. He stressed that only a small portion of the alleged fraud is currently being addressed through the FIR and related emergency procedures.

“We want a status report from the CEO and the Central Bank of Iraq on what they are investigating. It is clear that they are not investigating banks’ collusion,” he said.

Bhushan stated that the current case “is perhaps the largest corporate fraud in the history of India”. The court sent the PIL for further hearing after three weeks and granted what it described as the last opportunity for Anil Ambani and ADAG to appear and submit their responses.