Ex-Govt Official Approaches Supreme Court over Alleged Bank Fraud by Anil Ambani’s RCOM
(By Syed Ali Taher Abedi)
New Delhi: 17, November, 2025-Former government official and noted public policy expert E.A.S. Sarma has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Supreme Court, demanding a court-monitored investigation into what he describes as a massive bank fraud involving Reliance Communication (RCOM), its group entities, and former promoter Anil Ambani.
The petition, represented by Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan, asserts that the CBI’s August FIR and connected Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceedings represent only a fraction of the alleged wrongdoing. It alleges systemic diversion of funds, fabrication of accounts, and institutional complicity that go far beyond the scope of the current investigations.
“A fraud of this magnitude, involving public money and public institutions, cannot be investigated in a piecemeal manner without examining the conduct of public sector bank officials, statutory regulators, and government authorities. The five-year unexplained delay by the complainant bank and the inertia displayed by institutions like the RBI and ED clearly indicate deeper institutional complicity that the investigating agencies have entirely ignored.” the plea states
Allegations of Widespread Fraud
The PIL points to forensic audit reports and independent technical analyses, all of which highlight widespread irregularities in RCOM’s financial dealings.
It claims that investigative agencies have ignored the role of bank officials and regulators, despite clear evidence of complicity in sanctioning and monitoring loans.
“The funds involved represent public money held in trust by nationalized banks, and the failure of the investigating agencies to ensure a thorough and comprehensive probe undermine the faith of citizens in public institutions and the magnitude of the fraud, involving layered corporate structures, fictitious accounts, and cross-border transactions, make the present case one of exceptional gravity that cannot be left to routine investigation and requires judicial oversight to ensure a complete, impartial, and transparent inquiry.”
According to the petition, excluding these officials from scrutiny renders the ongoing probe “constitutionally deficient and violative of Articles 14 and 21.”
Loans Under Scanner
Between 2013 and 2017, RCOM and its subsidiaries — Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom — allegedly secured loans amounting to ₹31,580 crore from a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI).
“Multiple independent materials placed before this Hon’ble Court, including the Forensic Audit Reports commissioned by SBI and RBI-regulated entities, the Grant Thornton CIRP investigation, Technical Analysis Report, the Cobra post investigation report, and even publicly available news reports, uniformly demonstrate that various companies of the ADA Group have been involved in large-scale diversion of funds, round-tripping, misuse of external commercial borrowings, fabrication of accounting entries, operation of shell entities, and a complete disregard for the public money. These reports, though originating from different sources and prepared at different times, present a consistent pattern of corporate misconduct marked by siphoning of public money, manipulation of books, layering of transactions through domestic and offshore entities, and repeated violations of statutory frameworks such as the Companies Act, FEMA, SEBI regulations, RBI directions, and even the Prevention of Corruption Act where public officials are involved.” The Plea States.
The CBI FIR registered in August cites breach of trust and wrongful loss of ₹2,929 crore, but the PIL argues that this figure represents only a small portion of the overall fraud.
Judicial Affirmation and Bombay High Court’s Role
The petition further notes that several of these activities were judicially affirmed by the Bombay High Court, strengthening the case for a comprehensive probe.
It emphasizes that forensic audits and investigative publications have consistently pointed to large-scale diversion of funds and manipulation of accounts across group entities.
Supreme Court’s Response
When the matter was mentioned before Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, urgent listing was sought. The CJI agreed to list the matter, observing that judicial supervision is essential to ensure a coordinated, transparent, and comprehensive investigation covering all offences revealed in multiple reports.
Call for Accountability
The PIL underscores that bank officials involved in sanctioning and monitoring loans are public servants, and their conduct must be thoroughly investigated. It warns that failure to examine their role risks undermining the constitutional principles of equality and fair investigation.
With the Supreme Court set to urgently hear the matter, the case could potentially expand the scope of ongoing investigations into one of India’s largest alleged corporate-bank frauds. If admitted, the PIL may pave the way for judicially supervised probes into not just corporate promoters, but also institutional actors within the banking and regulatory ecosystem.
