The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a fresh status report in a plea seeking a court-monitored probe into the alleged diversion of funds by erstwhile IndiaBulls Housing Finance Ltd. (now Sammaan Capital), observing that no update had been placed on record since the agency’s affidavit filed in January.

During the hearing, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and SEBI had unearthed large-scale irregularities involving alleged siphoning of funds through loans extended by IndiaBulls to various entities, which in turn allegedly benefited companies linked to former promoter Sameer Gehlaut. He contended that despite these findings, there had been little progress and reiterated the request for constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Taking note of the absence of any updated affidavit, the Bench remarked:

Appearing for the CBI, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju submitted that investigations were continuing and that the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) had also commenced an investigation. He sought two weeks’ time to place a comprehensive status report before the Court detailing the progress made by the investigating agencies.

Accepting the request for time, the Court deferred further consideration of the plea and directed the CBI to place its latest status report on record before the next hearing.

During the hearing, the Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana observed that if loans had been repaid with interest, the question would be whether the manner in which the loans were granted itself disclosed any criminal offence, indicating that this was a central issue under investigation.

The Court deferred further consideration of the plea and directed the investigating agencies to file their status reports within two weeks.