The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to apprise it of the steps taken so far in their probes into allegations of large-scale bank fraud involving Reliance Communications, its group companies and industrialist Anil Ambani.
According to reports, the direction was issued by a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi while hearing a petition filed by former Union Secretary E A S Sarma, who has sought judicial supervision of the ongoing investigations.
The case stems from allegations that Reliance Communications and certain group entities raised large loans from a consortium of public sector banks and later defaulted, leading to substantial write-offs estimated at over Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Concerns were first raised after Bank of Baroda flagged irregularities during an audit in 2020, pointing to suspected diversion and misuse of funds.
Despite these red flags, a criminal case was registered several years later, prompting criticism over delays in investigation. Sarma subsequently approached the Supreme Court seeking judicial oversight, arguing that the scale and complexity of the alleged fraud, and the absence of public servants in the FIR, warranted closer court monitoring to ensure a comprehensive and impartial probe.
Appearing for Sarma, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan told the court that the alleged financial irregularities were far more extensive and complex than those examined in earlier corporate fraud cases. He argued that despite massive loan write-offs running into over Rs 1.5 lakh crore, the investigative agencies had proceeded in a slow and piecemeal manner.
Bhushan pointed out that Bank of Baroda had flagged irregularities through an audit as early as 2020, but a criminal case was registered only in June 2025. He contended that this delay raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of the investigation and the accountability of those involved.
He further submitted that the FIR registered in the case does not name any public servants and fails to capture the full scope of the alleged misconduct. According to him, the absence of public officials from the probe undermines efforts to uncover how such large-scale financial irregularities were allowed to occur and persist.
The Bench asked the CBI and the ED to place on record details of the actions taken so far, signalling that the court would closely monitor the progress of the investigations. The matter is expected to be taken up for further consideration after the agencies submit their status updates.