The Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMM Trust) has filed a Rs 1,000 crore civil defamation lawsuit against HDFC Bank Managing Director and CEO, Sashidhar Jagdishan, accusing him of making false and defamatory statements against the Trust and its Permanent Trustee, Prashant Mehta. The Trust has also filed a criminal defamation complaint against Jagdishan, the bank’s spokesperson, and its corporate communication head. The court has issued a notice to Jagdishan, and the Trust claims that these actions mark an important step in holding the HDFC Bank CEO accountable for what it describes as a targeted smear campaign.
The dispute began with a sudden Rs 65 crore loan claim by HDFC Bank, which the Trust claims is a “figment of imagination” and an attempt to divert attention from Jagdishan’s alleged misconduct. The Trust points out that the matter remained dormant from 2005-2019 and only resurfaced after Jagdishan’s personal engagement with Chetan Mehta. The Trust has raised questions about the varying figures cited by HDFC Bank in different legal documents, including Rs 4.9 crore, Rs 450 crore, and Rs 65.22 crore, and has denied any link with Splendour Gems, which it says has been falsely associated with the Trust by the bank’s CEO.
The Trust has also accused Jagdishan of accepting free medical treatment, facilitating a bribe, and accepting Rs 48 crore in deposits without approval from founder trustees. The Trust claims that Jagdishan has not addressed or notified regulators about the criminal defamation case against him and has attempted to label valid judicial orders and FIRs as frivolous.
In a related development, Chetan Mehta, who the Trust says supports Jagdishan, was convicted of criminal defamation in Dubai and fined AED 10,000. The Trust has stated that it will continue to fight through all legal means to expose what it sees as a misuse of power and to safeguard the values of transparency, accountability, and justice. The Trust’s Permanent Trustee, Prashant Mehta, has said that the institution remains committed to pursuing every legal channel to expose the misuse of institutional power and to ensure that no institution, however powerful, is above the law. The case is seen as a significant test of the Indian judiciary’s ability to hold powerful institutions and individuals accountable for their actions.