Did HDFC Bank CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan File Supreme Court Petition to Dismiss FIR from Lilavati Trust?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Sashidhar Jagdishan has filed a petition to quash the FIR against him.
- The FIR claims he accepted a bribe of Rs 2.05 crore.
- The hearing is set for July 4 in the Supreme Court.
- Serious allegations under multiple legal sections are involved.
- Jagdishan vehemently denies the charges, calling them malicious.
New Delhi, July 3 (NationPress) The CEO and Managing Director of HDFC Bank, Sashidhar Jagdishan, has approached the Supreme Court seeking to dismiss the first information report (FIR) filed against him by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust. The FIR accuses him of accepting a bribe amounting to Rs 2.05 crore.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Jagdishan, contended that the complaint was a tactic to exert pressure on the bank, which is attempting to recover funds from the Trust.
Justice MM Sundresh has scheduled a hearing for the case on Friday, July 4.
Rohatgi characterized the FIR as “frivolous” and noted that five judges from the Bombay High Court had recused themselves from hearing Jagdishan's petition to quash the FIR.
The case was previously heard in the Bombay High Court on June 30, where Jagdishan's legal team sought interim relief. However, the High Court deemed the matter non-urgent and scheduled a hearing for July 14, prompting Jagdishan to escalate the issue to the Supreme Court.
The FIR, filed last month at the Bandra police station in Mumbai, includes serious allegations against Jagdishan under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), and 420 (cheating).
The Trust claims in its complaint that Jagdishan accepted Rs 2.05 crore as a bribe to provide financial advice that would allow the Chetan Mehta Group to maintain undue control over the Trust's operations. The allegations also suggest that Jagdishan misused his position as the leader of a major private bank to intervene in the Trust's internal matters.
In response, Jagdishan firmly denied the accusations, labeling the case as a malicious attempt to tarnish his and HDFC Bank's reputation. He pointed out that HDFC, along with a consortium of banks, had provided loans to Splendor Gems Limited in 1995.
When the company defaulted, recovery actions were initiated in 2002 against its guarantors, including Kishor Mehta, the father of Prashant Mehta. An arrest warrant was issued in 2020, and even after Kishor Mehta's passing in 2024, proceedings continued against his sons.