New Delhi, July 3 HDFC Bank Managing Director and CEO, Sashidhar Jagdishan, has approached the Supreme Court to quash an FIR filed against him by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, which runs Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital.
A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and K Vinod Chandran agreed to urgently hear the matter on Friday after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Jagdishan, submitted that three Bombay High Court judges have recused themselves from hearing his plea to quash the criminal complaint.
The allegations against Jagdishan stated that one of the erstwhile members of the Trust had paid him Rs 2.05 crore for the sole purpose of harassing the father of one of the current members of the trust.
This transaction was allegedly recorded in a handwritten diary and was discovered by the current members.
The Trust further accused the bank of offering Rs 1.5 crore in the name of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to hospital staff, claiming it was an attempt to destroy evidence and interfere with the investigation.
The controversy unfolded when HDFC Bank raised questions about financial mismanagement involving the Trust. As per the bank, trustee Prashant Mehta and his family members owe substantial amounts to HDFC Bank which were never repaid.
They have now resorted to personal attacks on Jagdishan to intimidate and bully the bank.
In a statement, the HDFC Bank said, “Recovery and enforcement actions have been taken by the Bank over two decades and at every stage Prashant Mehta and his other family members have launched numerous vexatious legal actions. The Bank is confident that our judicial process will recognise the fraudulent intention and devious objectives of the Trustee and officials of Lilavati Trust of tarnishing the image of the Bank and its MD and CEO.”
Following the episode, the Trust has filed a Rs 1,000 crore defamation case against Jagdishan, accusing him of making false and damaging statements against the organisation and its permanent trustee Prashant Mehta.
The Trust said that the defamation suit was filed because of a series of “malicious, false and defamatory” comments made by Jagdishan, which they claim are part of a larger attempt to harm the image and functioning of the charitable institution.
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