Supreme Court pulls up CBI, ED over delay in Rs 40,000 crore Anil Ambani fraud probe

The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed strong displeasure over what it described as an unexplained delay by investigative agencies in probing alleged large-scale banking and corporate fraud involving Anil Ambani and companies of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), and directed the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to act swiftly and fairly.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, ordered both agencies to submit fresh status reports within four weeks, stressing that the probe must be “fair, prompt and dispassionate”. The case relates to alleged diversion of public funds amounting to nearly Rs 40,000 crore.

During the hearing, Ambani, represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, assured the court that he would not leave the country without prior permission, after the petitioner, former bureaucrat EAS Sarma, raised concerns that he might flee. The court noted that Look Out Circulars had already been issued against him, as confirmed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

The bench also directed the ED to constitute a special investigation team of senior officers to ensure that the probe against ADAG companies is taken to its logical conclusion without further delay. It granted four weeks to Ambani and the ADAG to file their responses to the public interest litigation.

Criticising the CBI’s handling of the case, the court noted that the agency had registered only a single FIR in 2025 based on a complaint by the State Bank of India, despite receiving multiple complaints from other lenders. The Chief Justice observed that each bank’s complaint involved a distinct transaction and should have been treated separately.

“The approach adopted by the CBI does not appear to be in conformity with procedural law,” the bench said, directing the agency to widen its investigation to examine possible collusion by bank officials.

The court took note of the ED’s affidavit, which said loans taken by Reliance Communications exceeded Rs 40,000 crore, while the estimated proceeds of crime were over Rs 20,000 crore. The agency said assets worth Rs 8,078 crore had already been provisionally attached.

According to the ED, Reliance Home Finance defaulted on loans of about Rs 7,500 crore and Reliance Commercial Finance on Rs 8,200 crore, allegedly involving large-scale diversion of public funds. The agency is also probing Reliance Power over the alleged submission of forged bank guarantees to the Solar Energy Corporation of India, causing a loss of more than Rs 105 crore.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, described the case as “possibly the largest corporate fraud in India’s history” and argued that investigative agencies had failed to examine the role of banks and their officials. He pointed to the sale of Reliance Communications, burdened with debts of around Rs 47,000 crore, for just Rs 430 crore, calling it a misuse of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

“The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is being misused like anything,” the Chief Justice remarked during the hearing.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing ADAG, countered the allegations, stating that Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure had together repaid nearly Rs 20,000 crore and that there was no siphoning of funds. Mr Rohatgi added that genuine business failures should not be criminalised and suggested that a committee be formed to assess actual dues instead of pursuing criminal cases.

The PIL alleges systematic diversion of public money, fabrication of accounts and institutional complicity across multiple ADAG entities. It claims that the existing FIR and related ED proceedings cover only a fraction of the alleged wrongdoing and seeks a court-monitored, time-bound investigation by a joint special team of the CBI and the ED.

With PTI inputs