Milind Patel Vs Union Bank of India & Ors (Bombay High Court)
Material Facts: The petitioner, a former Joint Managing Director of IL&FS Financial Services Limited (IFIN), challenged proceedings initiated by Union Bank of India for declaring IFIN and the petitioner as wilful defaulters under the Reserve Bank of India’s Master Circular on Wilful Defaulters dated 1 July 2015. The Show Cause Notice (SCN) dated 5 July 2022 alleged diversion and siphoning of funds by IFIN but did not set out the petitioner’s individual role beyond identifying him as a whole-time director. The petitioner repeatedly requested copies of the material forming the basis of the allegations, participated in a personal hearing, and submitted detailed written submissions, but contended that the requested material was never supplied.
Procedural History: According to Union Bank, the Identification Committee passed its draft order on 5 August 2022 and the Review Committee thereafter confirmed the declaration of wilful default. The petitioner asserted that the draft order of the Identification Committee was never served upon him and that he directly received the Review Committee’s final order dated 27 October 2023. After protesting the alleged procedural violations and receiving no response, the petitioner filed the writ petition seeking disclosure of the underlying material and quashing of the Review Committee’s order.
