The Bombay High
Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by industrialist Anil Ambani
challenging the State Bank of India's (SBI) decision classifying his and
Reliance Communications' accounts as fraud.
A bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela
Gokhale said there was no merit in the plea. A detailed copy of the judgement
was not available immediately.
The SBI had last year classified the accounts as
fraud, alleging misappropriation of funds by entering into transactions that
violated the terms of loans extended by it.
Ambani moved the HC, arguing that the bank had not
followed the principles of natural justice as it did not grant him a hearing.
Certain documents,
based on which the classification orders were passed, were not provided to him
initially, and furnished only after six months, the petition claimed.
The bank this year lodged a complaint with the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which searched premises linked to
Reliance Communications and Ambani's residence.
The CBI said it had registered a complaint after the
State Bank of India claimed a loss of Rs 2,929.05 crore resulting from alleged
misappropriation by Reliance Communications and Anil Ambani.