Overview
- Special Judge A.V. Gujarathi’s 3 September order, released publicly this week, held there was no prima facie case against Rao under the IPC or Prevention of Corruption Act.
- Rao is the first among roughly 25 accused to be discharged in the Rs 23,000-crore case, and proceedings against the remaining accused continue.
- The court criticized the prosecution’s “pick-and-choose” approach, noting similarly placed officials were omitted while Rao was singled out.
- The fraud was described as a localized scheme at PNB’s Brady House branch, with the court highlighting audit and supervisory lapses and noting it was humanly impossible for Rao to monitor 7,000-plus branches.
- Addressing the RBI’s August 2016 caution on SWIFT/LoU risks, the court said implementation lay with PNB’s IT division and a rollout decision by the MD & CEO, placing the task outside Rao’s remit.