On September 23, 2025, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) found itself at the center of two major legal developments—one closing a high-profile case, the other expanding its reach into a nationwide real estate fraud scandal. The events, though unrelated in their specifics, both underscore the CBI’s evolving role as a watchdog over financial integrity in the country’s banking and real estate sectors.
In the first case, the CBI officially closed its investigation into disproportionate assets allegedly held by B K Batra, the former deputy managing director of IDBI Bank. Batra, already under scrutiny for his role in the infamous Kingfisher Airlines loan fraud, had been suspected of amassing illicit assets totaling Rs 1.69 crore. According to The Economic Times, suspicions were first raised after investigators discovered credit entries of Rs 60 lakh in Batra’s bank account just before his retirement. The funds were traced back to a Gurugram resident who, notably, did not have the financial capacity to make such a transfer, raising red flags about the possibility of “accommodation entries” routed through shell companies.
However, as the CBI dug deeper, the picture became more nuanced. Investigators found that Batra had sold a flat to the same Gurugram resident and received an advance payment of Rs 60 lakh for the sale. This transaction accounted for a significant chunk of the assets initially deemed suspicious. Once this legitimate property sale was factored in, the remaining assets in question fell below the threshold set by the Supreme Court for a disproportionate assets probe—less than 10 percent of Batra’s total legal income. With this critical detail in hand, the CBI decided to file a closure report, which was recently accepted by a special court, effectively ending the assets case against Batra.
That’s not to say Batra is entirely off the hook. His name remains prominent in the ongoing Kingfisher Airlines loan fraud investigation. The CBI has accused him of colluding with Vijay Mallya, the airline’s flamboyant owner, in sanctioning a series of loans totaling Rs 950 crore without following proper due diligence. These loans, extended by IDBI Bank to Kingfisher Airlines, eventually turned into non-performing assets and were declared fraudulent. Batra, listed as accused number eight in the CBI’s chargesheet, is alleged to have played a role in all three key loan sanctions to the airline, with his level of responsibility described as “second only to the CMD.” In 2017, he was even arrested in connection with the case. Last year, a special court in Mumbai rejected his application for discharge from the Mallya case, keeping him firmly in the legal spotlight.
While the closure of the disproportionate assets case may offer Batra some temporary relief, the larger scandal surrounding the Kingfisher Airlines loans continues to cast a long shadow over India’s banking sector. The case has become emblematic of the kind of cozy relationships and lapses in oversight that can lead to massive financial losses for both banks and the public at large.
On the very same day that the court accepted the CBI’s closure report for Batra, the Supreme Court delivered another order that could have far-reaching consequences for India’s real estate and banking industries. A three-judge bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N K Singh granted the CBI permission to register six additional cases in its ongoing probe into what the court has described as an “unholy nexus” between property developers and financial institutions—a scheme that has left thousands of homebuyers in limbo.
The investigation, which already encompasses 22 cases, centers on allegations that developers and banks colluded to dupe homebuyers. The Supreme Court’s order came after Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the CBI, reported that a preliminary inquiry into projects outside the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) had been completed. This inquiry covered developments in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mohali, and Prayagraj. The findings were stark: cognisable offences had indeed been committed, warranting the registration of further cases to push the investigation forward.
The court’s attention was drawn to the matter by over 1,200 homebuyers and borrowers who petitioned that they were being forced to pay monthly installments on apartments that had never been handed over to them. The scale of the problem became clear earlier this year. On April 29, the Supreme Court found a prima facie nexus between prominent banks and builders in the execution of projects in Noida, Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad. Supertech, a well-known developer, was named as a major defaulter, and the court directed the CBI to proceed in phases, initiating seven preliminary inquiries and instructing the agency to file First Information Reports (FIRs) as necessary.
By July 22, the CBI had completed six of the seven inquiries and recommended that 22 regular cases be registered for detailed investigation. The seventh inquiry, which focused on projects by developers other than Supertech in cities outside the NCR, was still ongoing at that point, with the court granting the agency six weeks to wrap it up. This week, the Supreme Court was informed that the inquiry into five major cities had concluded, and that further cases were justified based on the evidence collected.
For many homebuyers, the court’s order represents a glimmer of hope after years of frustration and financial strain. The fact that over a thousand buyers felt compelled to petition the highest court in the land says much about the scale of the crisis. According to the court’s findings, the nexus between banks and builders was not limited to one region or a handful of companies. Instead, it spanned multiple cities and involved some of the country’s most prominent financial institutions and real estate developers.
Supertech’s name looms large in the court documents, but the scope of the investigation now stretches far beyond a single company. The CBI’s expanded mandate means that projects in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mohali, and Prayagraj will all come under fresh scrutiny. For the homebuyers who have been making payments on properties they do not possess, the move is a step toward accountability—though the wheels of justice, as ever, turn slowly.
The dual developments—the closure of one high-profile case and the expansion of another—highlight the complex, often frustrating nature of financial investigations in India. The CBI, for its part, finds itself balancing the need to avoid overreach with the imperative to act decisively when wrongdoing is uncovered. As the courts continue to play an active role in overseeing these probes, the public can only hope that transparency and accountability will ultimately prevail.
For now, the message from both the CBI and the judiciary is clear: no one, whether a high-ranking banker or a powerful developer, is above the law. The coming months will reveal just how far these investigations will go—and whether they can deliver the justice that so many affected families have been seeking.