new delhi, Aug 18
Industrialist Anil Ambani’s lawyer has alleged that the State Bank of India’s (SBI) action against Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) CMD Anil Ambani violated the principles of natural justice as laid down by the Supreme Court.
“SBI’s ex-parte action against Mr. Ambani is in violation of the principles laid down by the top court. The bank must reconsider its stance, especially since it has already withdrawn show-cause notices issued against five other non-executive directors,” Ambani’s counsel said.
He further argued that “SBI’s order was passed ex-parte, without giving Anil Dhirubhai Ambani an opportunity to present his case. This denial of a fair hearing clearly shows that the principles of natural justice were not followed. Such one-sided decisions not only erode confidence in the bank’s credibility but also set a troubling precedent for how financial institutions treat stakeholders, particularly when reputational and financial consequences are severe.” RCOM’s lawyer also stressed that while SBI had withdrawn show-cause notices issued against five other non-executive directors, the notice against Anil Ambani was not withdrawn, describing this as “a selective approach.”
SBI withdrew the notices issued to other non-executive directors of RCOM, acknowledging that they had no role in the company’s daily operations or financial decision-making.
“This selective and inconsistent approach raises serious concerns, as such differential treatment undermines the principle of fairness and weakens confidence in the impartiality of the bank’s decision-making process,” the lawyer added.
It may be recalled that SBI had classified Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM), along with promoter-director Anil Ambani, as “fraud” under the RBI’s master circular on Fraud Risk Management and its board-approved policy on Classification, Reporting & Management of Frauds.
Earlier, Ambani’s counsel had strongly objected to the classification of RCOM’s loan account as “fraud,” arguing that the move was based on an ex-parte order passed by the bank’s Fraud Identification Committee (FIC).
The lawyer said SBI’s action relied on a 2020 forensic audit of a 2016 loan, despite there being no recent urgency or engagement from the bank for nearly a year.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has questioned several senior executives of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group in connection with its probe into alleged money laundering linked to a ?17,000-crore bank loan fraud case.
Sources said the ED is likely to summon Anil Ambani again after questioning senior executives and examining documents and digital data seized during the probe.
Among those questioned are Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, a former chief financial officer of Reliance Group and a close aide of Ambani, and Sateesh Seth, another long-time confidante.
According to sources, ED findings suggest that Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited were allegedly used to divert bank loans to Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power, thereby facilitating money laundering through group entities.
