The Supreme Court on Friday granted permission for the completion of a forensic audit of Ruchi Soya Industries, now under the ownership of Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved. Furthermore, the court instructed the previous management of Ruchi Soya Industries to fully cooperate in facilitating the audit process.
The audit was instigated upon the request of IDBI Bank, which is heading a consortium of lenders for Ruchi Soya.
“It is imperative that the fresh forensic audit be taken to its logical conclusion,” solicitor general Tushar Mehta told a bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, adding the allegation involved misappropriation of INR 9,000 crore of public money advanced by banks.
Representing IDBI Bank, the Solicitor General (SG), along with lawyers Akshay Sapre and Abhijeet Swaroop, contended that solely a forensic audit could reveal any instances of financial mismanagement within the company. The bank additionally sought the reinstatement of contempt proceedings against Ruchi Soya’s former Managing Director, Dinesh Shahra. The bank argued that the audit had been impeded by Shahra’s lack of cooperation. The next hearing for this case is scheduled for January.
The consortium led by IDBI Bank has contested the June verdict of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which dismissed their request to reinstate contempt proceedings against the former management of the company.