Bombay High Court clears fraud proceedings against Anil Ambani

Mumbai: In a setback to industrialist Anil Ambani, the Bombay High Court on Monday set aside a single-judge interim order that had stayed proceedings to classify his and Reliance Communications’ bank accounts as fraud.

A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad allowed appeals filed by three PSU banks and audit firm BDO India LLP against the December 2025 order. The bench termed the earlier ruling “illegal and perverse” and refused Ambani’s request to stay its decision to enable him to approach the SC.

The earlier single-bench order had stayed action by Indian Overseas Bank, IDBI Bank and Bank of Baroda, observing that the forensic audit underpinning the fraud classification was flawed and violated RBI guidelines. Challenging this, the banks argued that the forensic audit was legally valid and pointed to serious findings of fund diversion and misuse.

They said the single bench erred in granting interim relief based on technical objections raised by Ambani regarding the audit firm’s credentials. With the division bench’s ruling, the banks can now proceed with action to classify the accounts as fraudulent.