The Supreme Court harshly criticized the CBI for not appearing in court regarding serious fund siphoning allegations against Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. The bench stressed that central agencies must act fairly and investigate such matters.
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NEW DLEHI: The Supreme Court came down strongly on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for failing to appear in a very serious case linked to Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd, which is now called Sammaan Capital Limited.
Even though the court had issued a notice to the CBI, the agency did not show up for the hearing.
This action (or lack of it) upset the court.
“We don’t appreciate this conduct. Once we issue a notice, they have to come here. How can they say they won’t appear before the Supreme Court?”
-the bench said sharply.
This case is about a petition that challenges a decision by the Delhi High Court. The High Court had earlier refused a request for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe that would be monitored by the court. The petition claims that the promoters of Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd have siphoned off large amounts of money.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is representing the petitioner, informed the court that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had said it could not take action because there was no predicate offence (a basic crime that must exist before ED can proceed). So, a request was made to the court, asking it to direct the CBI to register a criminal case.
Hearing this, the bench led by Justice Surya Kant said that these allegations are serious and deserved to be properly investigated.
The court felt that central investigation agencies should have taken steps to look into the matter and present a report.
“The allegations are of siphoning. In all fairness, the central agencies should have investigated and come up with a report,”
-the court remarked.
The judges were clearly unhappy with the absence of the CBI in court. They questioned the agency’s courage and commitment by saying:
“They don’t even have the guts to come to court?”
During the hearing, the Additional Solicitor General (representing the government) asked for one week’s time to get proper instructions from the CBI.
The court agreed to give this time. However, the bench also reminded the CBI that they don’t always need someone to formally file a complaint before taking action.
“What more information do they need? They already have the records,”
-the court asked.
On the other side, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for Indiabulls, strongly denied the allegations. He said that the company has been around for many years and there has never been a complaint filed against it.
The Supreme Court has now scheduled the next hearing for July 30.
CASE TITLE:
CITIZENS WHISTLE BLOWER FORUM Vs UNION OF INDIA
SLP(C) No. 2993/2025
Diary No. 50365 / 2024
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