The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it has filed chargesheets in three of the seven FIRs registered in connection with the alleged large-scale banking fraud involving the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) and its associated companies.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohan was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, that investigations in the remaining four cases are still in progress. Taking note of the submission, the apex court directed the CBI to file a fresh status report detailing the progress of the ongoing investigations.
The court also recorded that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint, equivalent to a chargesheet, in the connected money laundering cases. During the proceedings, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing petitioner and former bureaucrat E.A.S. Sarma, alleged that Anil Ambani, whom he described as the "kingpin" in the matter, has not been arrested despite the filing of chargesheets.
Bhushan submitted that although the CBI filed three chargesheets by June, it had not placed any updated status report before the court. He further argued that while the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had identified Anil Ambani as playing a "pivotal" role in the alleged fraud, the CBI's status report did not disclose any findings regarding his involvement.
He alleged that the investigating agency had arrested only relatively junior officials while no action had been taken against Anil Ambani. "I am saying they should disclose to your lordships what they have found about his role. In a 2025 chargesheet, CBI says he was the kingpin. SEBI says he was the kingpin," Bhushan submitted before the court.
Solicitor General Mehta rejected the allegation, saying it was incorrect to suggest that only lower-level officials had been arrested. He told the Bench that even managing directors and senior executives had been taken into custody during the course of the investigation.
The Supreme Court observed that it would not be appropriate to issue any direction on the matter at this stage and asked Bhushan to examine the chargesheets to understand the role attributed to Anil Ambani.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Anil Ambani, objected to the observations made during the hearing, saying such remarks could prejudice his client's case. "Once a chargesheet is filed, cognisance is yet to be taken. This is not the procedure this court has ever followed," Sibal submitted.
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The Bench clarified that it was conscious of ensuring that no observations made by the court would prejudice the rights of any party involved in the proceedings. Earlier, Solicitor General Mehta had informed the apex court that a total of nine FIRs had been registered in the matter, of which seven are currently under investigation. "In the seven cases, the total loss caused is Rs 27,337 crore," he had told the court.
In an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had expressed dissatisfaction over what it termed the "reluctance" shown by both the CBI and the ED in investigating the alleged banking fraud involving ADAG and its group companies.
The court had directed both agencies to carry out a "fair, dispassionate, transparent and time-bound" investigation into the allegations. During the proceedings, Anil Ambani had assured the apex court that he would not leave the country without obtaining its prior permission after the petitioner expressed apprehensions that he might attempt to flee abroad.
The ED has alleged loan defaults amounting to Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Home Finance and Rs 8,200 crore in Reliance Commercial Finance, claiming there was a large-scale diversion of public funds. With regard to Reliance Power, the ED informed the court that it is probing the alleged submission of forged bank guarantees to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), which reportedly caused a loss of more than Rs 105 crore.
The public interest litigation (PIL) alleges systematic diversion of public money, fabrication of financial records and institutional complicity across several entities belonging to the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADAG.
According to the petition, between 2013 and 2017, Reliance Communications (RCOM), Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom borrowed loans worth Rs 31,580 crore from a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI).
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