HDFC Bank CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan moves Bombay High Court against FIR by Lilavati Trust

HDFC Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sashidhar Jagdishan has filed a petition before the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against him by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, which owns the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai..When the matter came up for hearing before a Division Bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Rajesh Patil, both judges recused themselves from hearing the case. Later in the day, the matter was again mentioned before another bench of Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice Shyam Chandak. However, Justice Kotwal too recused from hearing the matter. The matter will now be assigned to another bench by an administrative order of the Chief Justice. .The FIR, lodged earlier this month with the Bandra Police Station under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), and 420 (cheating) of the IPC by the Trust through its authorised representative Prashant Mehta, levels serious allegations against Jagdishan. It accuses him of accepting a ₹2.05 crore bribe to aid the Chetan Mehta Group in allegedly retaining illegal control over the Trust.The FIR was filed pursuant to an order of a Magistrate court at Bandra, following the Trust's application under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.The complaint claims that the money was paid in exchange for financial and strategic advice to manipulate Trust affairs, which the Trust characterizes as misuse of authority by the HDFC Bank CEO..In a detailed statement issued by the Trust earlier this month, it alleged that the ₹2.05 crore was part of a broader scheme in which Jagdishan provided assistance to the Chetan Mehta Group in "looting the Trust" and maintaining undue influence over its governance. The Trust further claimed that Jagdishan and his family received "free medical treatment" from Lilavati Hospital, a benefit which, according to the Trust, has gone unacknowledged and unrefuted by HDFC Bank.The Trust also alleged that it had placed deposits and investments totaling ₹48 crore with HDFC Bank since the financial year 2022 and implied a conflict of interest in the ongoing relationship. In addition, the complaint alleges that ₹1.5 crore was offered by Jagdishan under the pretext of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, allegedly to facilitate the destruction and forgery of evidence relating to internal Trust disputes..During the hearing today, Senior Advocate Amit Desai, representing Jagdishan, categorically denied the allegations, calling them “one of the most absurd” claims. “It’s one of the most absurd allegations that he received money from trustees. The absurdity of the allegation is that he allegedly received ₹2 crore to harass HDFC Bank borrowers,” Desai submitted.He further argued that the FIR is a retaliatory move stemming from HDFC Bank’s recovery proceedings against Splendour Gems Limited — a company owned by the Mehta family — which has defaulted on loans amounting to ₹65.22 crore as of May 31. Desai stated that “these actions follow recovery proceedings initiated by the bank against a company owned by the father of one of the trustees.”He said that the complaint was filed only after the Trust had failed to secure any favourable response from the Union Finance Minister, the Reserve Bank of India and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. “They now use the facade of Lilavati Trust to take action against us,” he argued..HDFC Bank has publicly condemned the allegations as “malicious and baseless,” asserting that the legal complaints are part of a broader strategy to derail legitimate efforts to recover longstanding dues from the Mehta-controlled company.