The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed strong displeasure over the "unexplained delay" in investigations into an alleged Rs 40,000 crore banking and corporate fraud involving the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), Anil Ambani, and associated companies, directing the CBI and ED to conduct a "fair, prompt, and dispassionate" probe.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, ordered both agencies to file fresh status reports in four weeks. "Both ED and CBI have already taken time, and we therefore expect that both agencies will act promptly," the bench stated, while directing the ED to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of senior officers to swiftly conclude the inquiry.

The court criticized the CBI's approach, noting it had filed only one FIR in 2025 based on a State Bank of India (SBI) complaint, despite multiple follow-up complaints from other banks.

"The approach adopted by the CBI does not seem to be in conformity with procedural law," CJI Kant remarked, emphasizing that each bank's complaint warranted a separate FIR. The bench also ordered the CBI to probe potential "collusion" by bank officials.

During the hearing on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by former bureaucrat EAS Sarma, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan urged restrictions on Anil Ambani's travel, citing fleeing defaulters. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta confirmed Look Out Circulars were already issued against him. Ambani, represented by Mukul Rohatgi, assured the court he would not leave without permission.

The ED's affidavit, referenced by the bench, detailed loans exceeding Rs 40,000 crore to Reliance Communications, with "proceeds of crime" over Rs 20,000 crore. Assets worth Rs 8,078 crore have been attached.

Specific allegations included Rs 7,500 crore defaults in Reliance Home Finance, Rs 8,200 crore in Reliance Commercial Finance via "large-scale diversion of public funds," and forged bank guarantees in Reliance Power causing Rs 105 crore loss to the Solar Energy Corporation of India.

Bhushan highlighted Reliance Communications' Rs 47,000 crore debt sold for Rs 430 crore -- about 1% of its value -- to a firm linked to Anil Ambani's brother, alleging misuse of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. "This is probably the largest corporate fraud in India's history," he claimed, noting the fraud dated back to 2007-08, with the CBI FIR filed only on August 21, 2025.

ADAG, represented by Shyam Divan and Rohatgi, countered that Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure had repaid Rs 20,000 crore. "There is no question of siphoning. These companies are in the nature of paying back," Divan said. Rohatgi argued genuine business defaults should not be criminalized and suggested a government committee to assess dues.

The PIL seeks a court-monitored SIT probe into alleged systematic fund diversion, fabricated statements, and institutional complicity, claiming Rs 31,580 crore borrowed by RCOM, Reliance Infratel, and Reliance Telecom from an SBI-led consortium between 2013-2017 covers only a fraction of the fraud.

The bench granted ADAG four weeks to respond to the PIL.