Aaj Ka Anand Papers: CBI searches Pune in bank fraud case

The Central Bureau of Investigation said it searched several locations in Pune on 29 October 2026 in a bank fraud case against Aaj Ka Anand Papers Pvt Ltd, its directors and unknown public servants. The case follows a complaint from State Bank of India, Mumbai, alleging a wrongful loss of Rs 81.66 crore to the bank.

The CBI said the searches covered offices and residential properties linked to the company’s directors. Investigators recovered documents and digital evidence that the agency described as incriminating. The material was being examined, according to its statement.

The agency said it registered the case on allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and manipulation of accounts. Its announcement describes allegations under investigation, not a court finding that the company or its directors committed those offences.

Alleged diversion outside lenders’ banking channels

According to the CBI’s account of the complaint, the accused allegedly suppressed or misappropriated business revenue and altered or falsified accounting books and electronic records. The allegation of criminal breach of trust concerns the alleged misuse of entrusted funds; criminal conspiracy concerns an alleged agreement to carry out unlawful acts.

The movement of money is central to the complaint. The CBI said funds were diverted through current accounts outside the designated banking channels without the consent of the consortium lenders, the group of institutions lending to the borrower. It said this violated the sanction conditions, or terms attached to the credit facilities.

The Rs 81.66 crore figure is the wrongful loss alleged to have been caused to SBI. The CBI statement did not provide a transaction-by-transaction calculation, identify the accounts through which funds allegedly moved or specify who ultimately received the money.

The agency also did not state the period during which the alleged misconduct occurred. Although it announced the searches on 29 October, it did not give the date on which the case was registered or identify the statutory sections invoked.

PTI, in a report carried by ThePrint, also reported the searches and the alleged diversion through accounts outside the agreed banking channels. That account attributed the allegations to the CBI’s statement; it did not report a separate finding about the transactions.

Earlier records of SBI’s lending dispute

Separately, National Company Law Tribunal records document a lending dispute between SBI and Aaj Ka Anand Papers Limited. The corporate name in those records differs from the “Pvt Ltd” name used in the CBI announcement. The agency’s statement does not explain that difference or expressly connect its allegations to particular transactions discussed in the insolvency proceedings.

The distinction also matters for the amounts involved. SBI’s debt claim in the tribunal proceedings is not described in those records as the Rs 81.66 crore wrongful loss now alleged in the criminal case.

An order dated 31 March 2022 in State Bank of India v. Aaj Ka Anand Papers Limited, CP (IB) No.760/MB/2021, records SBI’s application before the NCLT’s Mumbai Bench-IV. Technical Member Rajesh Sharma and Judicial Member Kishore Vemulapalli heard the matter.

SBI applied under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, the provision through which a financial creditor can seek a corporate insolvency resolution process following a debt default. That process addresses the company’s financial distress; it is not a criminal prosecution for fraud.

According to the order, SBI claimed a total default of Rs 248,46,99,997.23. The petition was filed on 12 April 2021 and identified 28 June 2014 as the date of default.

The order records SBI’s submission that the borrower sought credit facilities of Rs 15.27 crore through an application dated 8 October 2004. The bank said it granted those facilities through a sanction letter dated 1 January 2005, with the lending arrangements subsequently modified, enhanced or restructured.

SBI’s account included cash credit, working capital and term-loan facilities. These cover borrowing for day-to-day business needs and loans repayable over an agreed period. The order also records arrangements with other lenders, including Bank of Baroda and Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Limited, and a restructured facility agreement dated 26 September 2014.

The bank told the tribunal that it issued a legal demand notice on 16 August 2017 seeking repayment of outstanding liabilities. It also said it brought a claim before the Debts Recovery Tribunal on 1 October 2018 for Rs 112,63,72,114, excluding interest. That tribunal proceeding concerned recovery of the bank’s dues.

Borrower’s objections and insolvency proceedings

The 2022 NCLT order records objections from Aaj Ka Anand Papers Limited to SBI’s insolvency application. The company disputed the bank’s submissions and argued that the application was not maintainable.

Among its objections, the company said the petition was barred by limitation, the legal time limit for bringing a proceeding. It argued that the bank had filed too late after classifying the account as non-performing. The company also disputed the interest charged and aspects of the property covered by a mortgage.

SBI relied on acknowledgements of liability, including a letter dated 29 May 2019 concerning a possible one-time settlement. Such a settlement would involve an agreed payment to resolve outstanding dues. In its observations, the tribunal said the letter showed the existence of debt and the company’s willingness to settle it, contrasting that communication with its position before the bench.

These were positions in the insolvency dispute, not responses to the CBI’s October 2026 allegations.

The company also told the tribunal that it published three daily newspapers: Aaj Ka Anand, Sandhyanand and Life-365. Its submission described around 150 permanent employees and 300 people indirectly engaged through suppliers, contractors, agents and agencies. Those figures describe its position in the earlier proceedings, not a verified workforce count for October 2026.

The Press Registrar General of India’s registered-title record independently lists AAJ KA ANAND as a Hindi daily published in Pune and owned by AAJ KA ANAND PAPERS LTD. The entry carries a revised registration date of 1 June 2026. It does not resolve the difference between that corporate name and the name in the CBI statement.

A subsequent NCLT order, pronounced on 13 March 2024 by Technical Member Prabhat Kumar and Judicial Member Kishore Vemulapalli, records the earlier insolvency chronology. It reproduces a direction dated 12 April 2023 to liquidate Aaj Ka Anand Papers Limited by first attempting a sale as a going concern, meaning a sale of the business as an operating whole. If that attempt failed, the direction allowed other sale methods under the Code.

That historical direction does not establish the outcome of any sale or the company’s present insolvency status.

Scope of the Pune investigation

The CBI described the search locations as several premises in Pune but did not disclose their number. It did not name the directors or the public servants covered by the case in its announcement.

The statement did not include a response from the company or its directors to the bank’s allegations. Nor did it announce an arrest or identify any person as having been convicted in connection with the alleged loss.

The agency’s description of the recovered material did not include an inventory of documents, devices or electronic records. Its statement therefore does not establish which particular transactions those records concern or what they show about any individual’s involvement.

The CBI said investigators were examining the seized material to determine the extent of the alleged conspiracy, misappropriation and diversion of funds, and the roles of all persons involved.