A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Mumbai has granted bail to Devang Mody, the former director and chief executive officer of Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, in connection with an alleged bank fraud case involving 4,097 crore rupees. Special Judge Nitin V Jiwane issued the order on August 29, observing that the allegations levelled against Mody were generic in nature and that further custodial interrogation was unwarranted. The court highlighted that the investigating agency had completed its probe, filed a charge-sheet, and left several other individuals accused of approving the disputed loans unarrested.
Court Evaluates Probe and Lack of Direct Evidence
Mody, who held the top executive role at the firm from April 2017 to December 2018, was taken into custody by the agency on June 22 along with two other senior executives of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, former Reliance Capital vice-chairman Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and former chief financial officer Amit Bapna. On July 7, the agency submitted its primary charge-sheet naming five former senior executives alongside Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Reliance Home Finance Ltd. While the agency had labelled Mody a key decision-maker responsible for sanctioning loans to conduit entities in breach of central bank norms, the court found no direct prima facie material demonstrating that he actively secured the borrowings or induced lenders.
The special court noted that the allegations against Mody closely mirrored those against other approving authorities who were not taken into custody. Judge Jiwane observed that the primary evidence in the case is documentary and already secured by investigators, substantially reducing any risk of evidence tampering. Furthermore, the court pointed out that a serious criminal breach of trust charge invoked during initial remand hearings was dropped in the final charge-sheet, leaving Mody facing offences tied to cheating and criminal conspiracy.
Origins of the Multi-Bank Fraud Allegations
The criminal proceedings stem from a formal complaint initiated by the Bank of Maharashtra alongside other institutional lenders. The initial complaint cited direct losses of 57.47 crore rupees to the bank, while noting that the finance firm had secured credit facilities amounting to 9,280 crore rupees from 31 financial institutions, public and private banks, non-banking financial companies, and corporate lenders.
The company’s account was subsequently declared a non-performing asset in March 2020 and classified as fraudulent in October 2025. Investigators alleged that funds obtained from lenders were redirected through intermediary firms to various group companies in direct breach of borrowing terms. The agency claimed these financial diversions resulted in collective losses of 4,097 crore rupees across 13 public-sector banks, producing unlawful financial gains for the accused individuals and affiliated corporate entities.
Bail Considerations and Continued Judicial Process
Mody’s conduct throughout the inquiry worked significantly in his favour during the bail assessment. The court observed that he had cooperated with the proceedings by appearing before the agency on multiple occasions prior to his formal arrest. The presence of an active Look Out Circular was also recognized as a sufficient measure to prevent him from leaving the country or avoiding future judicial hearings.
Given that the documentary trail is in official custody and the initial investigative phase has concluded, the court ruled that prolonged detention served no practical purpose. The order clarified that the grant of bail is an exercise of judicial discretion rather than an assessment of the case’s merits, leaving the formal evaluation of the charges and individual culpability for the upcoming trial.
