New Delhi. The Supreme Court on Friday said allegations of large-scale banking fraud involving the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and its firms require a thorough and timely investigation, after the CBI informed the court that the estimated loss in seven cases under probe was around ₹27,337 crore. The matter arose from a PIL seeking a court-monitored investigation into alleged loan frauds involving ADAG firms led by industrialist Anil Ambani.
CBI Says Nine FIRs Filed, Seven Cases Under Probe
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a petition filed by former bureaucrat E A S Sarma. The petitioner has sought a court-monitored probe into alleged loan frauds exceeding ₹40,000 crore involving ADAG firms.
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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the investigating agencies, told the court that nine FIRs had been lodged, including two cases in which chargesheets had already been filed. He said seven cases remained under investigation, with an estimated loss of ₹27,337 crore.
Mehta also informed the court that several teams of investigating officers had been formed for a speedy probe. Searches had been conducted at 14 locations, 31 lookout circulars had been issued, and around 3,960 documents had been collected in the pending cases.
Court Cautions Against Sensationalising Investigation
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, questioned why Anil Ambani had not been arrested despite the CBI and ED allegedly treating him as central to the case. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Anil Ambani, opposed the submissions and said Ambani was cooperating with the investigation.
The bench observed that the court has repeatedly been cautious in directing arrests unless the investigating agency itself seeks such action. It said the need for custodial interrogation must be left to the discretion of the probe agency.
The Supreme Court said the focus should remain on investigation and collection of relevant material rather than sensationalising the matter. It also observed that it did not want prejudice to be caused to either side.
Matter Posted for Further Hearing in July
The court said the matter required a thorough investigation and that agencies should act in a timely manner to maintain public confidence. It noted that the Solicitor General had submitted a brief note on the progress of the pending probe.
The bench said there had been a stage when its intervention was required to activate the investigating agencies and that appropriate orders had been passed earlier. It added that if the court later found the investigation lacking, it may step in further.
The matter has been posted for further consideration in July. Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the CBI and the ED to conduct a fair, dispassionate, transparent and time-bound investigation into the alleged banking fraud involving ADAG and its firms.
