Bombay High Court puts brakes on fraud tag for Anil Ambani, RCom
The Bombay High Court has paused all moves by Indian Overseas Bank, IDBI Bank, and Bank of Baroda to label Anil Ambani and Reliance Communications as "fraud" accounts.
The court found serious problems with how the banks relied on a forensic audit that did not comply with the RBI Master Directions on fraud and pointed out possible conflicts of interest.
Justice Milind Jadhav made this call on December 24.
Why does it matter?
Getting tagged as "fraud" can mean blacklisting, criminal cases, and losing access to loans—basically, it's a huge deal for anyone's reputation and future in business.
The court said the banks should have followed the RBI Master Directions and statutory requirements about who can sign off on audits, especially since the audit firm had previously worked for these same banks.
For now, Ambani and RCom get some breathing room while the legal details are sorted out.