Anil Ambani loses protection as Bombay High Court revokes interim stay.
Banks challenge fraud-designation pause; audit by BDO India LLP deemed legally valid.
Case stems from ₹31,580cr exposure to Reliance Communications and alleged fund diversion.
Bench refuses stay despite plea to approach Supreme Court of India.
Fresh Setback for Anil Ambani as Bombay HC Restores Banks’ 'Fraud' Proceedings
The case originates from forensic audits commissioned by a consortium of 20 lenders, led by the State Bank of India, into the finances of Reliance Communications Ltd and its group firms for the years 2013–2017
SBI will report the name of the company’s erstwhile director Anil Ambani to the Reserve Bank of India Shutterstock
Summary
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In a fresh blow to industrialist Anil Ambani, the Bombay High Court today set aside an earlier interim order that had paused proceedings aimed at designating the bank accounts of him and Reliance Communications as fraudulent, reported Bar and Bench.
A division bench led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad upheld appeals brought by three state-owned banks and audit firm BDO India LLP, overturning the single judge’s December 2025 directive.
While scrapping the earlier ruling, the bench described the interim order as “illegal and perverse.”
Counsel for Anil Ambani urged the High Court to put its ruling on hold at least for four weeks to allow them time to move the matter before the Supreme Court of India. The bench, however, refused to grant a stay.
The Division Bench passed the ruling on an appeal by the Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and BDO India LLP, who had challenged an order passed by Justice Milind Jadhav in December 2025. The order had extended temporary relief to Ambani and Reliance Communications.
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The single bench order stayed all present and future action by the banks, noting that the action was based on a legally flawed forensic audit and violated the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) mandatory guidelines.
The three banks in their appeal said the forensic audit, which led to accounts being classified as "fraud", was legally valid and based on serious findings of fund siphoning and misutilisation.
This was recorded in the report submitted by the audit firm BDO LLP, they contended.
The Dispute
The case originates from forensic audits commissioned by a consortium of 20 lenders, led by the State Bank of India, into the finances of Reliance Communications Ltd and its group firms for the years 2013–2017. The banks together had an exposure of ₹31,580 crore to the companies.
The audit findings pointed to alleged fund diversion, including about ₹12,692 crore routed to related entities and another ₹6,265 crore used to service loans from other banks. Ambani has maintained that the audit was defective, carried out far beyond the six-month window mandated under Reserve Bank of India regulations, and breached basic principles of natural justice.
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[With inputs from PTI]