# In the matter of Serious Fraud Investigation Office vs. Aditya Sarda

> SC judgment dated 2025-04-09. Citation: TCN-2025-SC-00026. This case involves a batch of sixteen appeals interconnected and arising out of proceedings before…

- **Court:** SC
- **Order date:** 9 Apr 2025
- **Citation:** TCN-2025-SC-00026
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/supreme-court-of-india/serious-fraud-investigation-office-vs-aditya-sarda-a435704b

## Summary

### Background

This case involves a batch of sixteen appeals interconnected and arising out of proceedings before the Special Judge, Gurugram, concerning CIS No. COMA/5/2019. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) initiated criminal proceedings against respondents accused of serious economic offenses. The SFIO's investigation stemmed from a Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) order dated 2018-06-20, directing an inquiry into 125 companies of Adarsh Group. The SFIO filed a criminal complaint in the Special Court at Gurugram, impleading 181 accused, including the respondents. The complaint alleged that Adarsh Credit Cooperative Society Limited (ACCSL) was used to divert funds to Adarsh Group companies through illegal loans. The Special Court took cognizance of the offenses and

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## Facts

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) ordered the SFIO to investigate the affairs of 125 companies of Adarsh Group on 2018-06-20. The SFIO submitted an investigation report on 2019-05-09, recommending prosecution against the respondents for offenses under the Companies Act and the IPC. A criminal complaint, COMA/5/2019, was filed by the SFIO in the Special Court at Gurugram on 2019-05-18, impleading 181 accused. The complaint alleged that Adarsh Credit Cooperative Society Limited (ACCSL) diverted funds to Adarsh Group companies through illegal loans. ACCSL had over 800 branches, 20 lakh members, 3.7 lakh advisors, and Rs.9253 crores of outstanding deposits as of 2018-05-31. The Special Court took cognizance of the offenses on 2019-06-03 and issued bailable warrants.

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## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the High Court was justified in granting anticipatory bail to the respondents, considering …

**Ratio:** Anticipatory bail should not be granted as a matter of routine, particularly in serious

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**Reasoning:** The court reasoned that economic offenses constitute a class apart and need to be viewed

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**Interpretation:** The interpretation emphasizes that anticipatory bail is an extraordinary remedy

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**Application:** The court applied the ratio by noting that the High Court failed to consider

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## Parties

- **Judges:** BELA M. T…; Prasanna B.…
- **Appellants:** Serious Fraud…
- **Respondents:** Adarsh Credit…; Aditya…
- **Other parties:** Over Tu…

## Timeline

- **2018-06-20 — MCA Orde…**: Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) directs SFIO to investigate the affairs of 125…
- **2019-05-09 — SFIO Investigation…**: SFIO submits investigation report…

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