Lilavati Trust fires another salvo at HDFC Bank CEO

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) The Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMM Trust) on Thursday claimed that “it has brought to light a concealed appointment letter dated February 2, 2022, that confirms that the HDFC Bank CEO, Shashidhar Jagdishan was made Financial Advisor to the Trust without the knowledge, consent, or ratification of its Permanent Trustees Kishor Mehta and Charu Kishor Mehta.”

“As far as the trust knows, neither the board of HDFC, SEBI, RBI Governor or finance Ministry were in knowledge of this clandestine appointment,” the LKMM Trust said in a press statement.

The statement alleges that this “covert appointment was orchestrated by Chetan Mehta in collusion with Rekha Seth and other purported trustees, in what appears to be a deliberate and unlawful strategy to grant external access and control over the Trust’s financial decisions and keep the illegal board in power. The appointment was never disclosed in any formal board proceedings, nor presented for approval to the founder trustees.”

Prashant Mehta, Permanent Trustee of LKMM Trust, said, “This appointment was carried out secretly by Chetan Mehta without any communication or approval from the permanent trustees - Mr. Kishor Mehta and Mrs. Charu Mehta.”

“What makes the appointment even more alarming is that it involves the active Managing Director and CEO of a major private sector bank, raising serious regulatory, ethical concerns and lapses. This appointment was neither transparent nor compliant with standards of fiduciary integrity expected in the banking sector,” according to the press statement.

HDFC Bank was yet to reach to the latest allegations made by the LKMM Trust.

Meanwhile, a fourth judge of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday recused himself from hearing HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan's plea against the FIR of cheating and fraud based on a complaint by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, which runs the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai.

The Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust had alleged that Jagdishan had accepted kickbacks worth Rs 2.05 crore in exchange for providing financial advice to help the hospital’s erstwhile trustees, including a certain Chetan Mehta, retain illegal control of the trust. Jagdishan had then approached the high court for quashing the FIR, arguing that it was baseless and malicious.

When the matter came up before a division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad on Wednesday, the latter recused himself from hearing it, without explaining why. After neither party raised any objection to the recusal, it was decided that the matter would be placed before another bench. that justice Ankhad is not a part of.

Earlier the Supreme Court on July 4 refused to admit Jagdishan’s plea seeking quashing of the FIR lodged against him in the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust case, as the bench observed that the Bombay High Court was scheduled to hear his plea on July 14.

A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and R Mahadevan said that it hopes and trusts that the matter will be taken up on July 14 for hearing.

It further observed that it was improper on the part of the Supreme Court to intervene when Jagdishan's petition was listed before the Bombay High Court on July 14.

The document directly aligns with several ongoing allegations, including the free treatment to family members, unauthorised deposit of Rs 48 crore, a Rs 2.05 crore bribe that is now under criminal investigation, and CSR payouts offered to be made without the consent of founder trustees or court approval. These overlapping activities only reinforce the Trust’s legal argument that the appointment was not incidental, but part of a calculated and unlawful agenda to keep Mr. Chetan Mehta and his illegal board in control.

The LKMM Trust reiterates that it remains committed to transparency, justice, and upholding the values on which the institution was built. The Trust continues to work through legal channels to expose all individuals involved in this exploitation and safeguard the hospital’s mission.

--IANS

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