The Bombay High Court dismissed Anil Ambani’s plea challenging SBI’s decision to classify his loan account as fraudulent. The Court upheld SBI’s action, confirming it followed RBI guidelines.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed the petition filed by industrialist Anil Ambani against the State Bank of India’s (SBI) decision to classify his loan accounts as “fraud.”
A Division Bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale rejected Ambani’s arguments of procedural unfairness and upheld SBI’s action. A copy of the judgment is awaited.
In June 2025, SBI had declared the loan accounts of Reliance Communications (RCom) and its promoter Anil Ambani as fraudulent. The bank cited reasons including diversion of funds, breach of loan covenants, and related-party transactions.
Following this, SBI informed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and began steps to approach the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Ambani challenged SBI’s decision, arguing that he was only a non-executive director of RCom and that he had been “selectively singled out.” He also claimed that he was not given an adequate opportunity to present his defence.
However, the High Court found that SBI had acted in accordance with the RBI’s July 2024 Master Directions on fraud classification and dismissed Ambani’s plea.
Interestingly, the same bench had previously stayed a similar fraud classification order issued by Canara Bank against Ambani, citing non-compliance with the RBI’s Master Circular.
The Circular mandates that banks must give the borrower a chance to be heard before declaring any account as fraudulent.
In July 2025, the matter was disposed of after Canara Bank informed the court that it had withdrawn the fraud classification.
Ambani had also filed a petition challenging the Union Bank of India’s fraud classification. However, the same Bench refused to grant a stay and directed Ambani to approach the RBI for further relief.
This latest decision by the Bombay High Court reinforces the authority of banks to classify accounts as fraudulent when there is evidence of financial irregularities, provided they follow the RBI’s guidelines. It also highlights the ongoing scrutiny of Anil Ambani’s financial dealings across multiple banks.
Case Title:
Anil D Ambani v. State Bank of India
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