Trilegal represented Sashidhar Jagdishan in Bombay High Court FIR quashing matter
The leading full-service Indian law firm, Trilegal represented Sashidhar Jagdishan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Bank Limited, before the Bombay High Court in a significant ruling pronounced yesterday, where a Division Bench comprising Justices M.S. Karnik and N.R. Borkar quashed FIR No. 0818 of 2025 registered against him, along with related FIRs against Phoenix ARC Private Limited and its directors. Mr. Jagdishan was represented by Senior Advocate Amit Desai, instructed by Trilegal.
FIR Background
The FIR registered on May 31, 2025 at Bandra Police Station alleged offences of criminal breach of trust and cheating and stemmed from a complaint filed by Mr. Prashant Kishore Mehta (acting as trustee on behalf of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust) before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Bandra. The complainant alleged that Mr. Jagdishan acted in collusion with erstwhile trustees of the Lilavati Trust and further alleged that he had received approximately Rs. 2.05 crores, purportedly evidenced by entries in a photocopied cash diary discovered after the new trustees assumed control of the Trust in late 2023.
Court’s Observations
The High Court held that the complaint was manifestly a counterblast to legitimate recovery proceedings initiated by HDFC Bank Limited and lacked the essential ingredient of bona fides. The Court found that the complaint did not disclose the essential elements of entrustment or dishonest inducement required to constitute offences of criminal breach of trust and cheating.
Crucially, the bench observed: “We are more than satisfied that the filing of the complaint by respondent Nos. 3 and 4 is a fallout of the recovery proceedings initiated by the financial institutions… a personal vendetta writ large on the face of proceedings for recovery.”
Magistrate Order Criticism
Further, the Court was critical of the Magistrate’s order dated 29 May 2025, holding that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 does not confer a mechanical right to seek registration of an FIR where allegations have already been examined and rejected by competent forums. The Court held that the Magistrate failed to appreciate the binding effect of prior judicial orders and the bar against multiplicity of proceedings on identical facts.
Outcome
By the present order quashing the FIR, the Bombay High Court has put to rest a protracted litigation that traversed multiple forums, including repeated rounds of challenge of earlier orders before the Supreme Court.
Team
The Trilegal team comprised Himanshu Sinha (Partner) and Chitra Rentala (Partner), along with Kriti Srivastava (Counsel), Parikshith Kezhkekara (Senior Associate) and Shravani Maddirala and Utkarsh Mishra (Associates).
Conclusion
This ruling underscores the judiciary’s firm stance against misuse of criminal proceedings in commercial disputes and reinforces safeguards against vexatious litigation.
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