The Supreme Court emphasized its reluctance to direct arrests, giving priority to gathering evidence and protecting witnesses. Monitoring the investigation, the bench declined to comment on the merits of the Anil Ambani Group (ADAG) case, citing past damage to reputation. CBI has registered nine FIRs against ADAG entities totaling Rs 27,337 crore.

New Delhi: A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said, “The SC has repeatedly said that it would be extremely reluctant to direct the arrest of any person. Importance must be given to the collection and preservation of evidence and the protection of witnesses.”..”“While monitoring the investigation, we do not express any opinion on the correctness of the arrest or non-arrest of any person. For effective investigation, the agencies are best suited to determine how to proceed…” CJI Kant said.The bench rejected ADAG’s plea to add a line in the order to state that the Supreme Court has not formed any opinion on the merits of the case and the court monitoring the investigation does not mean to the contrary.The Supreme Court said the continuing mandamus jurisprudence developed while monitoring the CBI investigation into the Jain-hawala scam in the Vineet Narayan case in the 1990s is a principle of which the court should be proud. However, comments made during court monitoring of the investigation caused severe damage to the reputations of many people. “The results were devastating. That’s why we are not commenting on the investigation.” Supreme Court Clarified.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, said that the CBI has so far registered nine FIRs against various ADAG entities and a total of Rs 27,337 crore is involved in the seven FIRs. He gave the detailed outline of the investigation and the progress made and said that four people have been arrested and 31 lookout circulars have been issued.When Bhushan stood firm on his complaint about non-arrest by agencies Anil AmbaniThe latter’s lawyer Kapil Sibal said the only agenda seems to be to arrest Anil Ambani. “He has cooperated with the investigation and is not a flight risk,” he said.ADAG senior advocate Shyam Diwan said the attachment order against the two companies – Reliance Power and Reliance Infra – has caused damage to the reputation of both. Sibal and Divan repeatedly tried to persuade the bench to write a line in the order – “The SC has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case…” The bench did not accede to Sibal’s request.