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What happened
Indian Overseas Bank, IDBI Bank, and Bank of Baroda filed an appeal on January 12, 2026 against a stay on proceedings to classify Anil Ambani’s and Reliance Communications Ltd’s bank accounts as fraud. A single-judge order from December 2025 stayed all present and future action by the banks, citing a legally flawed forensic audit and violations of the Reserve Bank of India’s mandatory guidelines. The banks told the division bench the forensic audit was legally valid and based on findings of fund siphoning and misutilisation recorded in a report by BDO LLP. The High Court posted the matter for further hearing on January 14.
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Key insights
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Dispute centers on forensic audit validity and RBI guideline compliance: The single-judge order cited violations of RBI mandatory guidelines and a legally flawed forensic audit, while the banks argued the audit was legally valid and supported by serious findings.
Takeaways
The Bombay High Court division bench scheduled further hearing on January 14 on the banks’ appeal against the stay on fraud-classification proceedings.