The Supreme Court of India has agreed to hear a significant public interest litigation (PIL) that demands a court-supervised investigation into an alleged massive banking fraud involving Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM), its affiliated companies, and former promoter Anil Ambani.
Petition Alleges Widespread Fund Diversion
The writ petition was formally filed by former Union secretary Emani Anantha Satyanarayana Sarma. It was presented before a bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, following which the court listed the matter for a future hearing.
The core allegation in the plea is that RCOM, Reliance Infratel, and Reliance Telecom diverted a staggering sum of ₹31,580 crore. These funds were loans disbursed by a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) between the years 2013 and 2017.
The petition argues that existing investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are insufficient. It states that the CBI's FIR from August 2025 and related ED proceedings cover only a fraction of the alleged wrongdoing. Crucially, these probes allegedly fail to examine the potential role of bank officials and regulators, even though detailed forensic audits have pointed to a widespread diversion of funds.
Forensic Audit Uncovers Financial Irregularities
Central to the petition's claims is a forensic audit commissioned by SBI in 2020. This audit reportedly uncovered extensive financial irregularities within the companies.
The findings allegedly included large-scale fund diversion for purposes such as repaying unrelated loans, making transfers to related parties, and investments in mutual funds and fixed deposits that were immediately liquidated. The audit also pointed to circular transactions used to disguise loan evergreening and recorded entries from bank accounts that were already closed, suggesting possible fabrication of financial statements.
The petitioner highlights that despite SBI possessing this damning audit report in 2020, the bank took no statutory action until filing the FIR in August 2025. This five-year delay is presented as a key indicator of possible collusion or a deliberate intent to shield the borrower group by bank officers.
The plea further details how shell entities, including Netizen Engineering and Kunj Bihari Developers, were allegedly used to siphon off funds. It also cites sham preference-share structures that reportedly helped write off more than ₹1,800 crore in liabilities.
Call for a Comprehensive Supreme Court-Monitored Probe
The PIL seeks a Supreme Court-monitored, comprehensive investigation that would cover the complete forensic audit record, related insolvency proceedings, and all other available material. It calls for probes into potential offences under a wide range of statutes, including the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), and others.
The petition contends that a fraud of this magnitude, involving public money and institutions, cannot be investigated in a piecemeal manner. It states that the unexplained delay by the bank and the inertia displayed by regulators like the RBI clearly indicate deeper institutional complicity.
This legal action adds another layer of scrutiny for Anil Ambani and the Reliance Group (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group). The CBI has recently conducted searches in Mumbai in a separate loan-fraud case involving RCOM. Simultaneously, the ED has widened its money-laundering probe, raiding over 35 premises linked to more than 50 group companies in July 2025.
By November 2025, the ED had already frozen assets worth ₹3,084 crore and attached 132 acres of land in Navi Mumbai valued at ₹4,462 crore, citing suspected laundering of proceeds from bank loans. RCOM had officially entered the bankruptcy process back in May 2019.
