SC to Hear PIL on RCOM Banking Fraud Probe

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a PIL seeking a court-monitored probe of alleged massive banking and corporate fraud involving Reliance Communications (RCOM), its group companies and their promoter Anil Ambani.

The plea was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria by lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

"There is bank fraud worth Rs 20,000 crore. We are seeking an independent court-monitored probe. This is about a large corporate group," the lawyer said.

“We will list it," the CJI said.

The PIL, filed by former Union secretary E A S Sarma, alleged systematic diversion of public funds, fabrication of financial statements and institutional complicity across multiple entities of the Anil Ambani–led Reliance ADA Group.

The PIL said that the FIR registered by the CBI on August 21, along with connected Enforcement Directorate proceedings, addresses merely a small segment of the alleged fraud.

Despite detailed forensic audits flagging serious irregularities, the petition claims that neither agency is probing the role of bank officials, auditors or regulators, which he calls a “critical failure”.

The plea also said that the findings of systematic fraud and diversion of funds have been judicially "recognised" in a decision of the Bombay High Court.

According to the plea, RCOM and its subsidiaries, Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom, secured loans worth Rs 31,580 crore between 2013 and 2017 from a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI).

A forensic audit commissioned by SBI, received in October 2020, purportedly revealed “large-scale diversion of funds”, including the use of thousands of crores to repay unrelated loans.

These findings, the PIL alleged, point to manipulation of financial reporting and fabrication of accounts.

The audit findings, reproduced in the petition, claim that several shell entities, including Netizen Engineering and Kunj Bihari Developers, were allegedly used to siphon and launder bank funds.

The petitioner highlights instances of subsidiaries writing off significant liabilities through alleged sham preference-share arrangements, which reportedly caused losses of over Rs 1,800 crore.

Sarma argues that such patterns reflect a “deliberate, structured and systemic effort” to conceal losses and misappropriate public funds.

A key concern raised in the PIL is SBI's nearly five-year delay in acting upon the forensic audit report, eventually filing its complaint only in August 2025.

This, the petition claims, indicates “prima facie institutional complicity”, especially as officers of nationalised banks are deemed public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The probe agencies are not investigating the roles of bank officials and regulators despite detailed forensic audits and independent reports pointing to widespread fraud, the plea said.