HDFC Bank CEO Moves Supreme Court For Urgent Hearing To Quash Lilavati Trust FIR
The dispute stems from HDFC Bank’s efforts to recover dues from the hospital trust, which allegedly prompted the trust to file the FIR in retaliation.
After a back and forth of legal developments, HDFC Bank Ltd.’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sashidhar Jagdishan has approached the Supreme Court, seeking an urgent hearing to quash an FIR filed against him by Trustees of Mumbai’s Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust.
The Supreme Court, responding swiftly, has agreed to hear the matter on Friday, after the Bombay High Court earlier this week refused to expedite the case, stating there was ‘no urgency’ and listing the next hearing for July 14.
On Thursday, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing HDFC Bank, made an impassioned plea before Justice MM Sundresh’s bench, arguing that the FIR registered by Lilavati Hospital’s trustees is "baseless" and amounts to "arm twisting".
According to Rohatgi, the dispute stems from HDFC Bank’s efforts to recover dues from the hospital trust, which allegedly prompted the trust to file the FIR in retaliation.
“This is a clear case of pressure tactics. Three benches of the Bombay High Court have not been able to hear the matter, and the next date is almost two weeks away. We seek urgent intervention,” Rohatgi told the Supreme Court.
The FIR in question accuses Jagdishan of fraud, a charge he vehemently denies. The controversy has drawn attention to the ongoing financial tussle between one of India’s largest private banks and the renowned Mumbai hospital trust.
With the Supreme Court now set to hear the application on Friday, all eyes are on whether Jagdishan will secure interim protection and relief from the criminal proceedings initiated by the hospital trustees.
This has come as the Bombay High Court on Monday declined to fast-track Jagdishan’s plea for quashing the FIR, maintaining there was no urgency. The matter was then listed for July 14.
HDFC Bank has previously claimed that the FIR was frivolous and filed only to defeat legal proceedings the bank has entered to recover loans from the Mehta family, who owned Beautiful Diamonds.
In May, Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust filed an FIR to the Mumbai police, alleging that Jagdishan took a bribe of Rs 2.05 crore to harass family members of one of the trust's members.
The FIR was directed by the Bombay Magistrate after the trust sought judicial intervention.
The case was heard by a division bench of Justice Rajesh S Patil and Justice AS Gadkari, according to details available on the high court's website.
