Delhi High Court questions Union Bank's notice to Anil Ambani's son over company account fraud

The Delhi High Court on Monday questioned Union Bank of India’s show cause notice to industrialist Anil Ambani’s son Jai Anmol Ambani over allegedly fraudulent activity in the account of a company owned by him. 

Justice Jasmeet Singh noted that the show cause notice was issued to Ambani on December 22, 2025 in relation to activity in the account of Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) but the company had undergone insolvency proceedings and the resolution plan was approved by the lenders (including the Union Bank) and the Supreme Court.

Hence, the notice made no sense, the judge opined.

“Notice has to make sense no? Why are you issuing a show-cause notice once the [resolution] plan has been approved? Where have you said that this was wrongly approved or that there was a fallacy in the resolution plan?” the Court asked the Union Bank’s counsel. 

However, Justice Singh said he will not stay the proceedings in relation to the show-cause notice.

Instead, the Court said that Ambani would reply to the notice and he or his authorised representative may appear before the bank for a personal hearing. 

The Bank will pass a speaking order after hearing him. The order will be brought to the Court on the next date of hearing, the Court said.

“The effect of the order shall be subject to the order passed in this writ petition,” Justice Singh added. 

The matter will be heard again on February 27.

The Court passed the directions while hearing Anmol Ambani’s plea challenging the show cause notice. Earlier, the High Court had quashed the Union Bank’s decision to classify Ambani company’s account as fraudulent, after noting the decision was taken without issuing a show cause notice to him. 

Today, Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar appeared for Anmol Ambani and argued that the notice issued on December 22, 2025, is inherently flawed as the resolution plan of RHFL was approved, and there cannot be any allegation of fraud against the company. 

He said that even assuming the worst-case scenario, the show-cause notice is based on an audit of the year 2020, and the notice has been issued five years later. 

Meanwhile, the counsel appearing for the Bank challenged the assertion and said the matter is only at the stage of a show cause notice, and the proceeding should not be stayed at this stage. 

After hearing the parties, the Bench said that it is not interdicting the proceeding, but Ambani should be heard by the Bank, and the outcome would be subject to the Court’s orders. 

The CBI has filed cases against Anil Ambani group companies on allegations of fraud amounting to nearly ₹14,853 crores. 

The agency’s case against Jai Anmol Ambani is that he cheated the Union Bank of India and caused the public sector bank a loss of nearly ₹228 crore. 

According to reports, the CBI has said that Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), where Jai Anmol Ambani was a director, borrowed substantial funds but failed to meet repayment obligations. A forensic audit allegedly found that loan proceeds were diverted and misused rather than used for their sanctioned purposes, resulting in the account slipping into non-performing asset (NPA) status. 

Union Bank claimed a wrongful loss of approximately ₹228.06 crore and after classifying the account as fraudulent, lodged a complaint with the CBI alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating and misconduct.