MUMBAI: In an escalating public spat between one of Mumbai’s most prominent healthcare institutions and the country’s largest private-sector lender, the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust has alleged a pattern of “confusion, contradiction and concealment” by HDFC Bank in connection with disputed loan transactions – and demanded answers from its CEO, Sashidhar Jagdishan.
The Trust, which runs the Lilavati Hospital, on Wednesday questioned why HDFC Bank has yet to produce an official loan ledger or agreement in court relating to its alleged dealings with the LKMM Trust.
The dispute dates back several years but has recently resurfaced after the Trust publicly accused Jagdishan of complicity in what it claims is a financial fraud.
In a strongly worded statement, the Trust said the bank has quoted wildly varying figures — from Rs4.8 crore to Rs450 crore – across different legal proceedings to support its claim of outstanding dues from the Trust and its permanent trustee Prashant Mehta.
Varying loan amount claims
“A Rs4.9 crore loan. Or was it Rs65.22 crore? Or Rs450 crore? Yet, despite all the noise, not a single official loan ledger has been presented in court of LKMM Trust or Prashant Mehta. How can one of India’s largest banks make three different claims about a single loan, and not back it up with a basic loan agreement and ledger?” Mehta said.
HDFC Bank, in response, dismissed the accusations as “outrageous and preposterous,” suggesting the allegations are aimed at derailing its legitimate recovery proceedings. It did not respond to the specific issue of why no loan ledger has been produced in court.
The Trust has maintained that it owes nothing to the bank and described the proceedings as part of a targeted campaign. It has also questioned the role of senior bank officials and asked how a top financial institution could present “completely different figures in different courts for the same alleged borrower.”
This is the first time the Lilavati Trust has gone public with detailed allegations against the bank’s top management, escalating what has so far been a courtroom battle into a high-profile institutional clash. Legal proceedings are ongoing.
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