Black Magic, A Mysterious CSR Fund And Murder Allegations: The Curious Case of HDFC Bank And Lilavati Trust

HDFC Bank Case Status: Banks have been in the news for the past week amid the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee meeting and the subsequent 50 basis points rate cut. However, amid all the buzz, HDFC bank made it to the headlines for a very different reason.

On June 7, the Executive Director of Lilavati Hospital, Param Bir Singh and the permanent trustee of Lilavati Trust, Prashant Mehta held a press conference in which the duo levelled multiple allegations against HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan and the former trustees of the board Chintan Mehta, Niket Mehta and Rashmi Mehta.

"I will take the name of Shri Chetan Mehta who is the chief conspirator in this misdeed in the siphoning of thousands of crores. Additionally, Shri Niket Mehta and Shri Rashmi Mehta were also key conspirators and four former trustees were also involved in the misdeed, their names are also mentioned in the FIR," Singh said in the press conference.

What Are Lilavati Trust's Allegations

The allegations levelled by Singh and Mehta range from accusations of 'black magic' to embezzlement to the tune of crores of rupees and even murder accusations.

"Everyday, we are coming across new skeletons. Skeletons remind of black magic, which I brought to your notice in the last press conference," Singh said at the press conference.

Earlier this year in March, the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT) filed an FIR against 17 individuals including seven former trustees for the allgeed embezzlement of over Rs 1,250 crore over the last twenty years. Singh also claimed that the former trustees had performed 'black magic' on the office floor of Prashant Mehta.

Mehta said that the former trustees gave the HDFC Bank MD and CEO favours, and in return for those favours, the MD and CEO hounded the permanent founder trustees and filed cases against them for non-repayment of a loan. Singh further alleged that the harassment led to the death of a permanent trustee of the hospital, Kishor Mehta, who was suffering from a serious health ailment.

"Our main allegation is that in return for the favours made and the bribes given by the former trustees of the hospital, the bank's MD and CEO hounded the permanent founder trustees and filed cases against them, while the alleged loan amount had already been recovered. Our late permanent trustee Kishor Mehta was summoned more than 100 times when he was dealing with a serious ailment; the family has also alleged that due to the harassment, Mehta passed away last year in May," Singh said.

What Were The Favours

Singh alleged that favours such as a direct cash transfer of Rs 2.05 crore and discounted treatment worth lakhs of rupees were given to the HDFC Bank CEO. Additionally, a fixed deposit of Rs 25 crore was opened with HDFC Bank without following due procedure.

"Our former illegal trustee gave Jagdishan Rs 2.05 crore in cash and treatment worth lakhs of rupees at a discount of 90 to 95 per cent. Special favours were granted to Jagdishan as a part of a quid pro quo agreement. Additionally a fixed deposit of Rs 25 crore was opened without due approval from the trust. Apart from that, Rs 1.5 crore was given in the form of CSR on Jagdishan's orders to our doctors in the form of a bribe to disclose sensitive information related to the hospital to the bank," Singh said.

Singh also mentioned that Sashidhar gave Rs 1.5 crore to the hospital in the form of a Corporate Social Responsibilty (CSR) fund. As per RBI guidelines banks can allocate up to 1 per cent of their previous year's published profits for CSR activities.

Singh also mentioned in the press conference that the trust has filed FIRs for three cases involving amounts ranging from Rs 20 crore to Rs 1250 crore so far.

"One case of Rs 1250 crore, a separate case of Rs 45 crore, a case of around Rs 20 crore and the two new cases we have filed now. We did not file the cases directly, the cases were filed upon the direction of the Hon'ble Magistrate," Singh said.

HDFC Bank Terms Allegations As Baseless

On June 8, HDFC bank issued a clarification following the allegations made by the Lilavati Trust. In its clarification the private sector lender called the allegations baseless and an attempt to prevent the recovery of a long outstanding loan.

"HDFC Bank Limited and its senior officials are being targeted by unscrupulous persons who are abusing the legal process to thwart the recovery of the long outstanding loan due to HDFC Bank from recalcitrant defaulters i.e., Splendour Gems Limited (formerly known as Beautiful Diamonds Limited)," the bank said in the release.

HDFC bank added that the company Splendour Gems is owned by the Mehta family and owes the bank a total of Rs 65.22 crore as of May 31, 2025.

"Splendour Gems Limited is, a company owned by the Mehta family, defaulted on loan facilities granted by HDFC Bank along with the other consortium banks in 1995. The outstanding dues towards HDFC Bank, including interest, amount to approximately INR 65.22 crore as on May 31, 2025," the release said.

HDFC bank added that apart from the current allegations, the Mehta family has filed for multiple complaints against the bank, which have either been dismissed or are currently under review.

"In response to ongoing recovery proceedings, members of the Mehta family have initiated multiple legal actions and complaints against HDFC Bank and its senior officials. These include criminal complaints, minority rights petitions, and representations to regulatory authorities—all of which have been dismissed or are under legal challenge," HDFC bank said.

The private lender added that it 'unequivocally rejects and strongly condemns' the 'baseless allegations' levelled against it. The bank added that it will continue to resort to lawful methods to recover the loan amount and defend the reputation of its directors and other employees.