Anil Ambani
Credit: PTI Photo
In a setback to Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani, the Bombay High Court has dismissed his petition against the decision of the State Bank of India (SBI) declaring his and Reliance Communications loan accounts as fraud.
Rejecting the petition, a division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Neela Gokhale said there was no merit in the plea.
The account was related to Reliance Communications, one of the Reliance Group companies, which is under insolvency.
In Jun 2025, the SBI had classified the accounts as fraud, alleging misappropriation of funds by entering into transactions that violated the terms of loans extended by it.
Anil Ambani’s legal team has argued procedural unfairness, however, the court upheld SBI’s action.
It may be mentioned that SBI tagged the loan accounts of Reliance Communications and its promoter Anil Ambani as fraudulent, citing diversion of funds, breach of covenants and related-party transactions.
Besides, the SBI also informed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and initiated steps to approach the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Reliance Group has argued that the SBI did not follow the principles of natural justice as it did not grant an audience to the industrialist before classifying his account as fraud.
Anil Ambani was represented by Senior Advocates Darius Khambata and Prateek Seksaria while the SBI was represented by Senior Advocate Aspi Chinoy with a team from Saraf & Partners.