The Supreme Court said it would leave the probe into the bank fraud case involving Anil Ambani to the 'wisdom' of the ED and CBI, noting that investigations are underway, charge sheets are filed, and arrests have been made in some cases.
The Supreme Court on Friday said it would, for now, leave the investigation into the alleged multi-thousand-crore bank fraud case involving businessman Anil Ambani and his companies to the "wisdom" of the investigating agencies.
The Court observed that after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the bench that investigations were underway, charge sheets had already been filed in some cases, and arrests had also been made. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the agencies, submitted status reports before the Court in a sealed cover.
Court Assures Restrictive Approach
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said it had consciously restrained itself from passing adverse directions against the respondents at this stage.
Assuring the counsels appearing for Ambani and his companies, the Court said it had adopted an "extensively restrictive" approach while dealing with the matter.
"Before we pass any order, we have our commitments to Sibal and Diwan (Senior lawyers Kapil Sibal and Shyam Diwan representing Anil Ambani and his companies) -- that we will hear them. Earlier also we haven't passed any orders adverse," the CJI said.
Petitioner's Arguments and Court's Response
During the hearing, Mehta informed the Court about the progress of the investigation. "Two FIRs have been registered on RTL and RCOM. Nine cases by CBI -- seven are under investigation, and two have already been chargesheeted. Two arrests have been made. More arrests will be made," Mehta said.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the PIL petitioner seeking directions against Ambani, referred to a fresh affidavit filed before the Court and alleged serious irregularities in transactions involving companies linked to YES Bank founder Rana Kapoor.
"We have filed a fresh affidavit. The CBI chargesheet is so gross. It concerns transactions between Anil Ambani companies and YES Bank companies, or rather, private companies of Mr Rana Kapoor. Nobody has been arrested. The facts stated in the chargesheet are so gross," Bhushan submitted.
The bench, however, said it could not examine the merits of the charge sheets during the hearing. "Understand our difficulty. We can't really vet a chargesheet here," the CJI remarked.
Bhushan argued that Ambani was allegedly the "kingpin" in the matter and questioned why he had not been arrested so far. "Anil Ambani is the kingpin. I find it puzzling that he's not been arrested yet. As if he's some holy cow," Bhushan said.
The CJI responded that the Court's earlier intervention had already pushed the agencies to act. "Our intervention was required to activate them. We passed an order. They are filing charge sheets," the bench observed.
Future Course of Action
The Court then indicated that it would wait for the investigation to progress further before considering any additional directions. "We are simply proceeding to wait. Let us hear your defence after the chargesheet," the CJI said while addressing the counsels appearing for Ambani.
The bench also observed that custodial interrogation and arrests can sometimes become necessary during investigations, but said it would presently leave that decision to the agencies. "Normally, as a general principle for an investigation, sometimes interrogation becomes necessary", the Court said, implying that arrests become necessary. It, however, added, "for now we are leaving it with the wisdom of the investigating authorities."
Justice Bagchi also remarked that the Court had deliberately exercised restraint while dealing with the matter. "The extent to which we have restrained ourselves from..." Justice Bagchi observed.
Previous Directives and ED's Probe
Earlier, on April 6, the Supreme Court directed central investigative agencies to conduct a time-bound, fair and transparent probe into alleged financial irregularities linked to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAG), while hearing a public interest litigation filed by EAS Sarma on March 23.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, took note of status reports submitted by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The ED informed the court that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted on February 12, 2026, to probe multiple cases connected to RAAG. The SIT includes senior ED officials, forensic analysts, and representatives from banking institutions.
According to the ED's report, investigations have begun in eight cases, with several documents already seized. The agency also flagged a suspected "Project Help," under which insolvency proceedings were allegedly initiated through unrelated lenders. It further claimed that claims worth around Rs 2,983 crore were settled for just Rs 26 crore, raising concerns of possible financial misconduct. (ANI)
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