HDFC Bank CEO Jagdishan’s appointment letter to Lilavati Trust requires forensic check, says Lilavati Trust

Lilavati Trust is backing the demand for a forensic check on Sashidhar Jagdishan’s appointment letter as a financial advisor to the trust, as per a release on Wednesday. Jagdishan is the chief executive officer of HDFC Bank. Former trustee Chetan Mehta who is under fire from the current trustees of the hospital for alleged fund misappropriation had on 14 July denied claims that HDFC Bank’s chief executive officer Jagdishan was appointed as an advisor under his stewardship.

The current trustees have filed first information reports accusing Jagdishan of collusion with the former trustees and also flagged an appointment letter to back the claim.

Chetan Mehta has denied the existence of an appointment letter.


“The very fact that Chetan Mehta continues to surface in defence of Mr. Jagdishan, despite claiming no involvement, only reaffirms the close nexus between the two. Their coordinated denials are a transparent attempt to shift focus away from the core issue, that financial decisions and critical Trust appointments were being made secretly, without approval of permanent trustees,” said Prashant Mehta, permanent trustee, LKMM Trust.

Chetan Mehta who is a descendant of Kirtilal Manilal Mehta and became a trustee of the hospital in 2007 is fighting in court claiming his legitimacy as a trustee. In his 14 July statement, he not only denied knowledge of an appointment letter making Jagdishan a financial advisor of the trust but also claimed that a forensic check should be carried out to ascertain if the letter was authentic.

“We find ourselves in agreement with one part of Mr. Chetan Mehta’s statement. A forensic check ought to be undertaken by the CBI. We support this demand wholeheartedly. However, such a check cannot be limited to a single letter. We call for a full forensic investigation into all financial dealings, unauthorised appointments, and communications between Mr. Mehta and Mr Jagdishan and all the FIRs registered so far,” said the statement from LKMM.