The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre, ED, CBI and Anil Ambani over the alleged RCom banking fraud. The Court seeks detailed responses within three weeks amid claims of large-scale fund diversion and fabricated accounts.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Central government, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and businessman Anil Ambani on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding a court-monitored investigation into the alleged multi-crore Reliance Communications (RCom)–Anil Ambani banking fraud.
The PIL filed by EAS Sarma, former Secretary to the Government of India, alleges fund diversion, falsified accounts, and collusion among multiple financial institutions, reportedly dating back to 2007–08.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that the alleged fraud is “probably the biggest corporate fraud in India’s history,” noting that although wrongdoing dates back to 2007–08, an FIR was filed only in August 2025.
Bhushan urged the Court to seek status reports from both the CBI and ED, asserting that current investigations cover only a fraction of the alleged offences.
A Bench led by Chief Justice BR Gavai, along with Justice Vinod Chandran, directed the respondents to submit their formal replies within three weeks.
When the Bench queried whether the petition had been shared with the respondents, Bhushan reiterated the request for updated investigation details from the agencies.
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Allegations in the PIL
The petitioner claims that the FIR filed by the CBI in August 2025, along with ongoing ED proceedings, addresses only a small segment of the alleged financial misconduct. According to the PIL:
1. Loans Worth ₹31,580 Crore Under Scrutiny
RCOM and subsidiaries Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom reportedly received loans between 2013 and 2017 from a consortium led by State Bank of India (SBI).
A forensic audit commissioned by SBI allegedly uncovered:
- Large-scale diversion of loan proceeds
- Use of funds to repay unrelated loans
- Transfers to related-party entities
- Circular transactions masking evergreening
- Activity in bank accounts declared as closed, suggesting possible fabrication of financial statements
2. Use of Shell Companies
Entities such as Netizen Engineering and Kunj Bihari Developers were allegedly used to siphon funds and launder money.
3. Sham Preference Shares
The PIL claims that dummy preference-share structures were used to write off liabilities, causing losses exceeding ₹1,800 crore.
4. SBI’s Five-Year Delay
A central allegation concerns SBI’s delay of nearly five years in acting upon the forensic audit completed in October 2020. The bank filed a complaint only in August 2025, which the petitioner calls “institutional complicity.”
Given that officers of nationalised banks qualify as public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the petition states that their alleged inaction also requires investigation.
The PIL also references alleged financial misconduct in other group entities, such as:
- Reliance Capital: ₹16,000-crore inter-corporate loans to subsidiaries with negative net worth
- Home-finance subsidiaries: Alleged diversion of funds and questionable asset classifications
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Petitioner Seeks Supreme Court–Monitored Probe
The PIL argues that ongoing CBI and ED investigations do not address key aspects like:
- Fabrication of financial statements
- Cross-border layering of funds
- Non-existent or forged bank accounts
- Violations under multiple laws, including:
- IPC
- Prevention of Corruption Act
- PMLA
- FEMA
- Companies Act
- RBI guidelines
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)
Sarma therefore seeks a comprehensive, court-monitored investigation, integrating findings from forensic audits, insolvency proceedings, and regulatory reports.
Case Title:
EAS Sarma v. Union of India
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