The Supreme Court has refused to grant bail to former Reliance Power chief financial officer Ashok Kumar Pal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged submission of forged bank guarantees for a Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) battery storage project.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan, however, allowed Pal to approach the trial court for regular bail after charges are framed in the case.
The court added that any fresh bail application filed by Pal should be considered independently, on its merits, as expeditiously as possible and in accordance with law.
The Delhi High Court had earlier rejected Pal’s bail plea on June 10, holding that the material collected by the Directorate of Enforcement prima facie disclosed his involvement and that the conditions prescribed under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act had not been met.
ED alleges loss to public exchequer
Appearing for the ED, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that forged bank guarantees had allegedly been furnished in connection with a Reliance Power project.
According to the agency, the alleged transactions caused a loss of Rs 105.98 crore to the public exchequer. Three company officials, including Pal, were arrested, while the prosecution complaint has already been filed.
Mehta also informed the court that a public interest litigation related to the broader Reliance Power investigation was pending before the Chief Justice and sought to have Pal’s case placed before the same bench.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Pal, opposed the request and argued that the matter concerned a regular bail plea that should be heard independently.
Rohatgi submitted that the investigation had been completed, the prosecution complaint had been filed and Pal had spent nearly 10 months in custody. He also argued that Pal had not personally forged the bank guarantees.
The bench, however, declined to grant bail at the present stage.
What is the case all about?
The case stems from an SECI tender issued in June 2024 for a 1,000 MW/2,000 MWh battery energy storage system project.
Bidders were required to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs 68.20 crore. Reliance Power subsequently entered into cooperation and supplementary agreements with Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd.
The prosecution has alleged that guarantees purportedly issued by overseas banks, along with an SBI endorsement, were forged and submitted to SECI. The ED registered an enforcement case information report in June 2025 and arrested Pal in October that year.
The agency has relied on agreements executed by Pal, statements recorded under the PMLA, WhatsApp messages, emails and other electronic evidence to allege his involvement in generating and submitting the guarantees.