Supreme Court Raises Concern Over Delay In ADAG Fraud Probe

The Supreme Court of India on Monday expressed concern over the slow progress of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged banking fraud case linked to the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG). The court clearly said that the investigation should be fair, transparent, and completed within a fixed time.

The bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, was hearing a PIL filed by former bureaucrat EAS Sarma. He has asked for a proper investigation into the alleged loan fraud of more than Rs 40,000 crore involving companies of Anil Ambani.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has already been formed with ED officers and banking experts. He also said that assets worth around Rs 15,000 crore have been attached and four people have been arrested so far.

However, advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that even after serious findings in a SEBI report about money being syphoned off, the CBI has still not made any arrests. In response, the court said it cannot tell agencies whom to arrest, but it also made it clear that the slow progress is not acceptable and the agencies must show results in a time-bound manner.

The court also pointed out some important details from the reports. It said that the CBI and ED are currently investigating multiple FIRs. In one case, a loan of over Rs 3,000 crore was settled by paying just Rs 26 crore. The total suspected fraud is being estimated at around Rs 73,000 crore.

The judges asked both agencies to work together and complete the investigation properly so that the truth comes out. They also said the process should build confidence among people. The court has now asked for fresh status reports and fixed the next hearing after four weeks.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Anil Ambani, said that because the case is still going on, banks are not ready to discuss any settlement. The court replied that it has not stopped anyone from having consultations. Earlier, the court had also raised concerns about delays in the investigation. Anil Ambani has already told the court that he will not leave the country without permission.

As per the ED, there are defaults of Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Home Finance and Rs 8,200 crore in Reliance Commercial Finance, and it has alleged misuse of public funds. It is also looking into a case where fake bank guarantees were submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India, causing a loss of over Rs 105 crore.

Prashant Bhushan also said that Reliance Communications, which had a debt of Rs 47,000 crore, was sold for only Rs 430 crore to a company linked to Anil Ambani’s brother. The Chief Justice remarked that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is being misused. A lawyer for ADAG said that companies like Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure have already repaid around Rs 20,000 crore. The court had earlier asked both agencies to submit their reports in a sealed cover. It also noted that although the FIR was filed in 2025, the alleged fraud has been going on since 2007-08, and the current investigation only covers a small part of it.

The petition also mentioned that between 2013 and 2017, companies like RCOM, Reliance Infratel, and Reliance Telecom had taken loans worth Rs 31,580 crore from a group of banks led by the State Bank of India.