HDFC Bank CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan moves SC against FIR by Lilavati Trust

HDFC Bank Managing Director and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan has approached the Supreme Court seeking quashing of a criminal FIR filed against him by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, which manages Mumbai’s prominent Lilavati Hospital.
The petition was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and K Vinod Chandran on Thursday.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Jagdishan, told the court that three different benches of the Bombay High Court had recused themselves from hearing the matter, leading to delays in its listing. “Every day, the bank is suffering. This is a frivolous FIR filed by trustees who are in litigation with another group within the Trust. The bank is merely attempting to recover dues,” Rohatgi submitted.

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The bench agreed to hear the plea on July 4.

The FIR, filed at Bandra police station following a magistrate’s order under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), accuses Jagdishan of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and misuse of his position as head of a leading private bank.

According to the Trust’s complaint, Jagdishan allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 2.05 crore in exchange for providing financial advice that helped the Chetan Mehta Group retain “illegal and undue” control over the Trust’s governance. The complaint further claims that he interfered in the internal affairs of the charitable trust under the guise of professional advice.

HDFC Bank and its top executive are yet to issue a formal public response to the allegations.

The case stems from a long-standing internal feud between two factions of trustees within the Lilavati Trust, with the current FIR seen as an escalation in the ongoing dispute.

The trust alleged that the CEO misused his official position to interfere in the internal governance of the charitable trust.