'Last Opportunity To File Response': SC To Anil Ambani, ADAG On Plea Alleging Massive Banking, Corporate Fraud

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued fresh notices to Anil Ambani and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) on a plea seeking a court-monitored probe into alleged massive banking and corporate fraud involving the firm and its group companies. The apex court made it clear that it was granting the last opportunity to Anil Ambani and the ADAG to appear and file their responses in the case.

The plea alleged systematic diversion of public funds, fabrication of financial statements and institutional complicity across multiple entities of the Anil Ambani–led Reliance ADAG Group.

On November 18, 2025, the apex court issued notice to the Centre, Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, Anil Ambani and others on the plea. Today, the matter came up before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan and Advocate Pranav Sachdeva represented the petitioner, former Union Secretary E A S Sarma, before the bench.

During the hearing, the CJI said both CBI and ED are directed to file respective status reports with respect to the ongoing investigations, and if the investigation is still not complete, "such status reports may be initially filed before us in a sealed cover."

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the central agencies, said the accused cannot know the contents of these reports, and it has to be in a sealed cover, otherwise the accused would come to know.

The bench issued fresh notices to Anil Ambani and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG).

The bench asked the Bombay High Court's registrar general to ensure service of notices on Anil Ambani and the ADAG and file a compliance report.

The Justices have scheduled the matter for further hearing after 10 days.

The plea claimed that the FIR registered by the CBI on August 21, along with the connected ED proceedings, addresses merely a small segment of the alleged fraud. The plea claimed that agencies are not probing the role of bank officials, auditors or regulators, and termed it 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. The plea claimed that 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.

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