Bombay High Court Dismisses Anil Ambani's Challenge to SBI's Fraud Classification of Accounts

The State Bank of India classified the accounts as fraudulent last year (File)

Mumbai:

On Friday, the Bombay High Court rejected industrialist Anil Ambani's petition challenging the State Bank of India's decision to classify his and Reliance Communications' accounts as fraudulent.

The bench, consisting of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale, stated that the petition lacked merit. A comprehensive copy of the judgment was not immediately available.

Last year, the State Bank of India categorized the accounts as fraud, claiming misappropriation of funds through transactions that violated the terms of the loans it had provided.

Ambani approached the High Court, contending that the bank had not adhered to principles of natural justice by not providing him an opportunity for a hearing.

According to the petition, certain documents upon which the classification orders were based were initially withheld from him and were only furnished after six months.

Earlier this year, the bank filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which subsequently conducted searches at premises connected to Reliance Communications and Ambani's residence.

The CBI reported that it had registered a complaint following the State Bank of India's claim of suffering a loss of Rs 2,929.05 crore due to alleged misappropriation by Reliance Communications and Anil Ambani.