New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has refused to grant regular bail to the former Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Power Limited in a money laundering case linked to the issuance of an alleged fake bank guarantee of Rs 68 crore.
Justice Madhu Jain dismissed the bail plea by Ashok Kumar Pal Wednesday, stating that no ground was made out to give him reprieve in the case probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Considering the allegations and the material before it, the court said it was unable to conclude that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Pal was not guilty of money laundering.
The case pertains to a bank guarantee of Rs 68.2 crore submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) on behalf of Reliance NU BESS Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Power — an Anil Ambani group company– which was found to be “fake”.
Justice Jain said the ex-CFO’s claim that he had no knowledge of the alleged forgery and acted only in his official capacity would be considered during the trial when evidence is appreciated.
Pal also argued that his complaint led to the registration of the predicate offence FIR, and that no proceeds of crime accrued to him.
“Having regard to the nature of the allegations and the material relied upon by the Directorate of Enforcement, including statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA, documentary material and electronic communications collected during investigation, this court is unable to record satisfaction that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the applicant is not guilty of the offence alleged,” the court concluded.
“The twin conditions prescribed under Section 45 of the PMLA (for granting bail) are, therefore, not satisfied at this stage. In view of the above, the applicant is not entitled to regular bail,” it ordered.
Pal was arrested by the ED October 10, 2025. The investigating agency argued in the high court that, contrary to Pal’s stand that he played a limited role in the company’s affairs, the material demonstrated his direct and active involvement in executing the agreements and correspondences under probe.
Pal worked as Chief Financial Officer with Reliance Power Limited from January 29, 2023 to October 11, 2025. He was also an authorised signatory of Reliance NU BESS Limited.
The money laundering case stems from a November 2024 FIR of Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). It was alleged that the company was engaged in issuing “fake” bank guarantees against a commission of 8 per cent.
Reliance Power has said earlier that it had been a “victim of fraud, forgery and cheating conspiracy” in this case, and it had made due disclosures in this context to the stock exchange November 7, 2024.
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