New Delhi, March 23 The Supreme Court on Monday expressed concern over the apparent lack of urgency shown by the CBI and the ED in investigating the alleged large-scale banking fraud involving the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and its firms, and directed them to conduct a "thorough, impartial, and time-bound" investigation.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and directed all relevant financial institutions to "fully cooperate" with the ED.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by former bureaucrat E A S Sarma, seeking a court-monitored investigation into alleged loan fraud exceeding Rs 40,000 crore by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) firms led by Anil Ambani, the bench permitted the central investigating agencies to approach it if other government bodies were reluctant to cooperate.
Mehta informed the bench that a Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted in accordance with an earlier order, comprising senior ED officers and financial experts from the banking sector, had been established.
He said that the investigating agencies had so far attached assets worth Rs 15,000 crore and had also arrested four individuals, including several senior officials.
On the other hand, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing Sarma, cited a SEBI report and pointed out that a scheme had been devised to divert funds, and yet the CBI had not made any arrests.
"Arrests have been made. We cannot make arbitrary arrests," the solicitor general stated.
"We cannot direct (them) whom to arrest; but the investigating agencies, in their apparent reluctance, is unacceptable. They should clearly state what has been found. Your investigation should reveal what has been done and must inspire confidence, not only in us, but in everyone," the CJI said.
The bench referred to certain facts disclosed in the updated status reports from the investigating agencies and noted that the CBI and the ED are currently investigating seven and eight FIRs, respectively.
It also said that an amount of more than Rs 3,000 crore had reportedly been recovered through payment of Rs 26 crore.
The bench estimated that the total fraud amount is around Rs 73,000 crore.
"The investigating agencies must work together to resolve this issue. We urge the CBI and the ED to conduct the investigation in a thorough and impartial manner, within a specified timeframe, to reach a conclusive outcome," the CJI said.
The solicitor general assured that every effort would be made to uncover the truth. He pointed to the second status report from the ED, which sought details from financial institutions. The bench ordered that this request be fully complied with.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Anil Ambani, stated that due to the ongoing PIL, the lending banks were hesitant to engage in dialogue to resolve the outstanding debts.
"They are hesitant because of the case," Rohatgi said.
The bench stated that it had not prevented anyone from conducting consultations.
The bench requested updated status reports from the investigating agencies and fixed the PIL for further hearing after four weeks.
On February 4, the bench had expressed concern over the "unexplained delay" in the investigations.
Ambani had assured the top court that he would not leave the country without prior permission after the petitioner apprehended that he might flee.
The ED has alleged defaults of Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Home Finance and Rs 8,200 crore in Reliance Commercial Finance, citing "large-scale diversion of public funds".
Regarding Reliance Power, the ED's report, which was recorded by the bench, stated that the agency was investigating the submission of forged bank guarantees to Solar Energy Corporation of India, which caused a loss of more than Rs 105 crore.
Bhushan pointed out that Reliance Communications, despite having debts of Rs 47,000 crore, was sold for a mere Rs 430 crore, roughly 1 per cent of its value, to a company belonging to Anil Ambani's brother.
"The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is being misused," the CJI said.
A senior lawyer, representing ADAG, said that two group companies, Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, had already repaid Rs 20,000 crore.
On January 23, the top court had asked the CBI and the ED to submit status reports within 10 days on their ongoing investigations into alleged massive banking and corporate fraud.
The FIR was registered in 2025, though the fraud had been ongoing since 2007-08, the lawyer alleged.
The PIL alleged systematic diversion of public funds, fabrication of financial statements, and institutional complicity across multiple entities of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADAG.
It said that the FIR registered by the CBI, along with the connected ED proceedings, addresses only a small segment of the alleged fraud.
It also sought a direction to the respondents to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising officers from the CBI and the ED to conduct a thorough, impartial, and time-bound investigation.
It said that between 2013 and 2017, RCOM, Reliance Infratel, and Reliance Telecom borrowed Rs 31,580 crore from a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India.
