Delhi High Court Orders Forensic Audit Into Fortis Asset Dissipation

The Delhi High Court ordered a comprehensive forensic audit on August 31, 2026, to investigate the alleged dissipation of assets and shares linked to former Fortis promoters Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh. The investigation follows a decade-long effort by Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo to enforce a 2016 international arbitration award stemming from a dispute over the 2008 acquisition of Ranbaxy.

Justice Subramonium Prasad appointed S Ramanand Aiyar & Co to reconstruct transactions since May 24, 2016, with a deadline to complete the audit within six months. The court found that approximately 5.23 crore unencumbered shares were sold despite assurances that assets would remain available for recovery. While the original award was ₹2,562 crore, Daiichi Sankyo claims the total amount due has risen to approximately ₹5,300 crore including interest.

The audit will examine the roles of 17 financial institutions, Fortis Healthcare management, IHH Healthcare Berhad, and RHT Health Trust to determine if corporate structures were used to facilitate fraud or evade the decree. The court rejected arguments from Fortis Healthcare that its independent corporate personality should preclude the inquiry, though it clarified that the audit is purely investigative and does not yet establish liability.