CBI Court Grants Bail to Former RCFL CEO Devang Mody in ₹4,097-Crore Fraud Case
A special CBI court in Mumbai has granted bail to Devang Mody, the former director and chief executive officer of Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL), in connection with an alleged ₹4,097-crore bank fraud case. Special Judge Nitin V Jiwane granted relief in an order dated August 29, observing that the allegations against Mody were generic in nature, the investigation against him was complete, and the central agency had already filed its charge-sheet.
Mody served as RCFL's director and CEO from April 2017 to December 2018. The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested him on June 22 this year as one of three Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group executives taken into custody, alongside former Reliance Capital vice-chairman Amitabh Jhunjhunwala and former Reliance Capital chief financial officer Amit Bapna. The CBI later filed its first charge-sheet on July 7, naming five former senior RCFL executives alongside Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Reliance Home Finance Ltd.
The case stems from a complaint lodged by Bank of Maharashtra and other lenders alleging that RCFL caused losses of ₹57.47 crore. In total, the firm had availed loans worth ₹9,280 crore from 31 banks, financial institutions, non-banking financial companies, and corporate entities. The account was declared a non-performing asset in March 2020 and classified as fraud in October 2025. The CBI alleged borrowed funds were diverted through conduit firms to ADA Group entities, causing ₹4,097 crore in losses across 13 public-sector banks.
While the CBI previously labelled Mody a key decision-maker who sanctioned loans in violation of Reserve Bank of India rules and sought custody to uncover the alleged conspiracy, the court highlighted that there was no concrete prima facie material showing he participated in availing the loans or induced others to secure them. The court also observed that other authorities who approved the loans had not been arrested and that Mody's further custodial interrogation was unnecessary.
Judge Jiwane noted that the CBI had dropped the serious breach-of-trust charge cited during remand, limiting the charge-sheet allegations to cheating and criminal conspiracy. Pointing out that Mody had appeared before investigators multiple times prior to arrest, that documentary evidence was already secured, and that an existing Look Out Circular mitigated flight risk, the court held that discretion in granting bail should be exercised in his favour.
