SC Asks CBI, ED to Conduct Fair Probes against ADAG, Firms

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, sought fresh status reports from the CBI and the ED within four weeks on the progress of the investigation.

“Both ED and CBI have already taken time, and we therefore expect that both agencies will act promptly,” the Bench said, while directing the ED to constitute a special investigation team comprising senior officers to take the probe against ADAG and others to a logical conclusion.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Anil Ambani, assured the court that his client would not leave the country without prior permission. The assurance was given after PIL petitioner and former bureaucrat E.A.S. Sarma raised concerns that Ambani might flee.

The court granted four weeks to Ambani and ADAG companies to file their responses to the PIL, noting their appearance through senior advocates Rohatgi and Shyam Divan.

Criticising the CBI’s procedural approach, the Bench noted that only one FIR was registered in 2025 on a complaint from the SBI, despite subsequent complaints from other banks. Observing that each bank’s complaint constituted a separate transaction warranting an independent FIR, the Chief Justice said the approach “does not seem to be in conformity with procedural law”. The court also directed the CBI to expand the probe to examine possible collusion of bank officials.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the PIL petitioner, sought restrictions on Ambani’s foreign travel, citing instances of high-profile defaulters leaving the country. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that Look Out Circulars had already been issued against Ambani and said the alleged amount siphoned off through ADAG companies was about Rs 40,000 crore.

Referring to the ED’s affidavit, the court noted that loans availed by Reliance Communications exceeded Rs 40,000 crore, with the agency assessing the “proceeds of crime” at over Rs 20,000 crore. The ED said assets worth Rs 8,078 crore had been provisionally attached, and alleged defaults of Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Home Finance and Rs 8,200 crore in Reliance Commercial Finance, citing large-scale diversion of public funds. It also flagged alleged submission of forged bank guarantees by Reliance Power to the Solar Energy Corporation of India, resulting in a loss of over Rs 105 crore.

Bhushan further submitted that Reliance Communications, despite debts of Rs 47,000 crore, was sold for Rs 430 crore to a company linked to Ambani’s brother. “The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is being misused like anything,” the Chief Justice observed.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for ADAG, said Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure had repaid Rs 20,000 crore and denied siphoning of funds. Rohatgi argued that genuine business defaults should not be criminalised and suggested the formation of a committee to determine actual dues.

The PIL alleges systematic diversion of public funds, fabrication of financial statements and institutional complicity across multiple ADAG entities, and contends that the FIR registered on August 21 covers only a limited part of the alleged fraud. It also seeks a court-monitored SIT comprising officers from the CBI and ED for a time-bound investigation.