The Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear the petition filed by HDFC Bank CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan seeking to quash the FIR lodged on the complaint of Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust.
A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan observed that it was improper on the part of the Supreme Court to intervene when Jagdishan's petition is listed before the Bombay High Court on July 14.
HDFC CEO approached the Supreme Court stating that three Bombay High Court judges recused from hearing the matter, causing a delay in the hearing. During a brief hearing, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Lilavati Trust, objected to the petitioner approaching the Supreme Court, saying that the matter is listed before the High Court on July 14 already.
At this, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for the petitioner, urged the bench to give some interim protection at least till July 14. However, the bench expressed reservation in admitting the plea as the matter is pending before the High Court.
In a brief order, the bench said, "We hope and trust that the matter would be taken up on the 14th of July."
In its FIR, Lilavati Trust accused Jagdishan of accepting a bribe of ₹2.05 crore from erstwhile Trustee Chetan Mehta, for giving him financial advice and helping him to retain control over the Trust's governance.
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The Trust accused him of interfering in its internal affairs and misusing his position as the head of a leading private bank. He was booked for cheating and criminal breach of trust.
The case has faced multiple recusals in the Bombay High Court. On June 18, Justice Rajesh Patil recused himself citing personal reasons, followed by Justice Sarang Kotwal stepping away from a newly constituted bench. Later, Justice Jitendra Jain also withdrew after revealing he owned shares in HDFC Bank.
Complicating matters further, the High Court had earlier issued an administrative order directing that cases involving the Lilavati Trust not be listed before six of its judges, likely due to conflicts of interest.