RCOM bank loan fraud case: SC seeks status reports from CBI, ED; fresh notice to Anil Amban

The Supreme Court on Friday sought status reports from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on their probe into allegations of large-scale bank fraud involving Reliance Communications (RCOM), its group companies and businessman Anil Dhirubhai Ambani.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the directions while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by former Union Secretary E.A.S. Sarma, who has sought a court-monitored investigation into the alleged siphoning and diversion of public funds by the corporate entity.

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Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Prashant Bhushan contended that the scale and complexity of the alleged corporate fraud in the RCOM case exceeded even the financial irregularities uncovered in the Indiabulls matter. He urged the Court to call for status reports from the investigating agencies.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, informed the Bench that a criminal case has already been registered and is under investigation by the CBI. Importantly, he stated that the Centre, the CBI and the ED were not opposing the submissions advanced by Bhushan.

The Solicitor General said, “There was a forensic audit, and it did find, as a matter of fact, that there was siphoning of funds, redirecting of funds for other purposes, etc., based upon which SBI has filed an FIR with the CBI.”

Bhushan, however, submitted that the FIR registered by the CBI was deficient and failed to capture the full magnitude of the alleged wrongdoing. He said that more than ₹1.5 lakh crore of debts have been written off in the bankruptcy proceedings.

“The web of transactions is so fraudulent… so many shell companies opened… Even in the FIR, they have not named any public servant. The first thing that is needed is for the CBI and ED to file their status report saying what they have done until now,” he said.

At this, the Court directed both agencies to submit their status reports within ten days. The Bench clarified that if the investigations are still underway, the reports may initially be submitted in a sealed cover.

“Since respondents 1 to 3 have entered appearance, the CBI and ED are directed to file status reports… If the investigation is not complete, such status reports may be filed in a sealed cover,” the Court ordered.

The Bench also noted the absence of Anil Ambani and his group entities from the proceedings and directed the Registry to issue fresh notices to Anil Dhirubhai Ambani and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, granting them a final opportunity to respond.

In the course of the hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan said that though the Court had issued notice on the plea on November 18, 2025, they have not appeared before it. Stating that Anil Ambani and his group of companies could not have been ignorant of the notice issued on November 18, Bhushan told the Bench, “This was widely reported in the media, the issue of notice in this case. So, it’s not that they do not know. They would certainly know… But apparently these people watch from the sidelines,” he added.

The PIL filed by E.A.S. Sarma alleges that between 2013 and 2017, RCOM and its subsidiaries — Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom — availed loans of over ₹31,500 crore from a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India. Relying on forensic audit reports, the plea claims massive diversion of funds through related-party transfers, circular transactions and evergreening of loans.

The petition further flags a nearly five-year delay by SBI in acting on a forensic audit report received in 2020, asserting that such inaction points to possible institutional complicity. Sarma has argued that only a court-monitored investigation can unravel the alleged fraud involving public money.