New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday observed that allegations of large-scale banking fraud involving firms linked to the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group require a “thorough investigation”, as it heard a Public Interest Litigation seeking a court-monitored probe.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the court that the total estimated loss across seven ongoing cases stood at around ₹27,337 crore. It said nine FIRs had been registered in total, including two cases where charge sheets have already been filed, while investigations are continuing in the remaining seven.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing the PIL filed by former bureaucrat E A S Sarma, who has sought a court-supervised investigation into alleged loan frauds exceeding ₹40,000 crore involving ADAG firms led by industrialist Anil Ambani.

During the hearing, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, questioned the lack of arrests despite allegations that Ambani was the “kingpin” of the alleged scam, according to investigative agencies.

The bench, however, cautioned against sensationalising the matter and said decisions regarding arrest and custodial interrogation must remain with the investigating agencies.

“It is the discretion of the probe agency,” the court observed, adding that it would be “extremely shy” in directing arrests unless specifically sought by investigators.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Anil Ambani, questioned the basis on which charge sheet details were being accessed before cognisance by the trial court, and maintained that his client was cooperating fully with the investigation.

The court noted that while the investigation must proceed independently, it should be conducted in a fair, transparent and time-bound manner to maintain public confidence.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench that multiple investigative teams were working on the cases, searches had been conducted at 14 locations, and over 3,900 documents had been collected. He also said 31 lookout circulars had been issued and two arrests had been made so far.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has separately alleged defaults running into thousands of crores in cases involving Reliance Home Finance and Reliance Commercial Finance, citing diversion of public funds, while also probing allegations related to Reliance Power.

The Supreme Court has now posted the matter for further hearing in July, while indicating it may continue to monitor the investigation if required.